Sweet in Disguise
by OtakuChild
Summary: Chapter Seven is up! The secret is out, and has a nasty effect on all four involved. Malik x Bakura, Ryou x Marik. OOC, AU, Language, ShonenAi.
1. Bitter Beginnings

Sweet in Disguise   
Written By OtakuChild   
DISCLAIMER: *lets out a sigh* Watch the dub. See Malik in Bondage gear? No? Then I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. 

So here's what's been going on.   
I've been buried in schoolwork. Staying up until three in the morning doing schoolwork. All because my advisor messed up while calculating my credits, and it turns out I'm 10 credits short for graduation.   
So what does she do?   
She slaps another elective class onto my already horrendous workload! I now have to do an entire semester's classwork in two months, or else I won't graduate on time.   
I'm tired, frustrated, upset, and feeling royally screwed.   
So that's where I've been for the last six months. I finally got on top of everything, and even have some spare time now. So this story underwent a refit, because I read it, and realized it was crap. It made not much sense, and the overall quality of it was poor.I didn't want to give up on it completley, I knew it was fixable, It just came down to fixing what was wrong with it and finding the time to do so. I know I've become kind of a lurker lately.   
About the whole Skuld thing...   
I must have been tweaking or something when I wrote it into the storyline. Yuk. Straight Ryou is wrong. Very wrong. So as of now, Ryou is single, and it may gear towards Marik/Ryou, if I feel like putting it in. 

This will be the first of many prequels to 'Sicky.' Basically what I'm doing is filling in the 'Sicky' storyline a bit. It focuses on Malik and Bakura, and how they got to be where they are. Out of character? Probably. I do try to keep them in character, but the plot makes it tough. It is AU(alternate universe) so it has absolutley nothing to do with what's going on in the anime.   


  
  
  
  
  
  


Chapter One: Bitter Beginnings 

It was Friday night at the Chaotix, a small club in Domino City, where Malik Ishtar and some friends were having a wee bit of a drinking contest. That fake ID his yami had gotten him last Christmas was really coming in handy.   
Now, our blonde bishonen was buzzed, but he was pacing himself to outdrink his friends, something he did on a regular basis. To him, this was just another fun night out. But a small table he passed by unnoticed would forever change his life. He cast a quick glance to the table, seeing people he knew there, but not really paying attention as he made his way to the bartender for more drinks. Had he known one particular person sitting at said table or had an inkling of what this fateful night would bring, he would have either run away, or taken a flying jump into the table, we're not sure which.   
Back to our story...   
At the preveiously mentioned table, a group of friends were sitting, talking, drinking, and eyeing people that walked by. A pair of brown eyes was watching Malik intently.   
"Hey you! Whatcha lookin' at?" The voice came from a tall man with brown hair and icy blue eyes. He'd had the most to drink that night.   
"Shut up Seto! You'll scare him away! I'm lookin' at Malik! I think I'm gonna go talk to him..." The brown eyes belonged to a silver-haired former tomb robber, who was none other than Bakura.   
"Well, I don't know if Malik is actually a name, but that is his name!" said Seto. "He's hotness!"   
Yami, the third person sitting at the table, punched Seto in the arm to shut him up. Out of the three, he had had the least to drink, and was barely drinking at all, because he knew the CEO to his right couldn't hold his liquor to save his life, and Bakura always got drunk.   
"Bakura, you stupid!" he said. "You can't talk to Malik! You've never talked to him before! You'll get shot down...and he's feisty. He fights back you know."   
"All the more reason to talk to him! And who said I was gonna make a pass at him?" Bakura snapped.   
"Cuz it's all you've been talking about all night!" Yami proclaimed. "I am the Pharoh! I KNOW EVERYTHING!"   
Indeed, that was the main thing the former tomb robber had been talking about. It started with a simple, "He's so preeety...." and as more alcohol came to the table, it turned into, "Hees so beeeauutiful...I want those pretty lavender eyeballs to look at MY eyeballs, dammit!"   
By this time Yami was attracting some strange looks to the table, so Bakura took this is an opportunity. "I'm going in for the kill!" He announced, then started walking towards Malik.   
"He'll fight back!" Yami crooned.   
"Aww...that poor Lavender-eyed person with lavender eyes..." Kaiba said. "Won't know what hit him." 

Malik was standing idly at the bar when a pair of pale arms snaked themselves around his waist.   
"Well, now, you're a pretty little thing, you know..." A deep British voice purred in Malik's ear. Malik's eyes hardened into a glare. _What the fuck? Who is this? He sounds familiar..._   
The voice continued.   
"And that shirt, I must say..." the hand stroked the collar of Malik's shirt, a black, see-through tank that fit him tightly. "That shirt is rather becoming on you..." the voice murmured, "...and if I were on you, I'd be cumming too."   
That did it.   
"GET OFF ME!" Malik kicked the man in the shin and wiggled out of his grasp. He turned to face him, fuming.   
Bakura rubbed his shin, but showed no other reaction, preferring to stay in the shadows for now. He stood, undaunted. "Okay, so that one didn't work," he said. "How about...I'm down with Pokemon, can I have a pikachu?(1)"   
"_NO!_" Malik sent a kick toward's the man's crotch, but the man ducked, and the kick missed.   
"Who the hell are you?" Malik spat.   
"Oh come on, now, you know me! Don't tell me you don't recognize me, pretty thing..." Bakura stepped from the shadows to reveal himself completley.   
"You! You're Ryou's yami!" Malik said.   
"And you were expecting who? The Queen of England?" Bakura grinned.   
"You're not funny." Malik put a hand on his hip.   
"But you're pretty!" Bakura took a step forward, and Malik held up his hand. "Stop! If you think I'm just going to follow you right to your bed you're more deranged than I originally thought. Just stay away from me."   
"Of course not," Bakura said. "I was planning to buy you a drink first."   
"OH MY GOD! You are such a jerk!" Malik hissed. He smacked Bakura hard on the face, and stormed off.   
Bakura stood there, nursing his now reddened cheek, smirking. "He wants me," he said to nobody in particular. 

"Oh my GOD! My stupid retarded Yami!" Ryou pounded a fist on the table. "STUPID YAMI! See if I let him in tonight...I hope he has one hell of a hangover! What the fuck was he thinking?"   
"Weeell," Marik said, tipsy, "He's horny. And he doesn't think when he's horny."   
"It's a wonder how you can stay so calm when it's _your_ hikari he made a pass at," Ryou said flatly.   
"He WHAT???" Marik screamed. "I'll KILL HIM!" It took both Ryou and Joey to restrain him.   
"You can kill him tomorrow!" said Joey. "But we have to find Malik now. We must finish the drinking contest!"   
Ryou banged his head on the table in distress. "No we are not," he said. "I'm the designated driver, and I say we are finding Malik and going HOME." He took their hands and dragged them around, looking for Malik. They found him, and they piled into the car, and Ryou drove them home. 

"He shhmacked me," Bakura said, mind clouded over from drinking.   
"I told you he'd fight back. But you know, that was kinda dumb." Yami took a sip of cola.   
Bakura slammed the empty shot glass. "It washn't dumb! He wash...he wash jusssht playin' all hard to get and shtuff...or maybe thatsh how he hitshh on people..."   
"But he wasn't hitting on you, you dumbass!" Yami said. "_You_ hit on _him._ And, might I add, you where shot down in flames."   
"Sho? Heesh mush to feishty for you," Seto crooned. "I shay, youshe jusht needa forget about that little shnotfashe. DOWN WITH ALL SHNOTFASHES, I SHAY!" And with that, he passed out on the table.   
"Um...ignore him," Yami said. "He's wasted. Come to think of it, so are you." He sighed. "Bakura, what are you going to do now? You can't just let it pass without some sort of apology."   
Bakura gave Yami a blank stare. "A what?"   
"An APOLOGY! When you act like a jerk to someone, a.k.a. hitting on them when you're drunk, you APOLOGIZE to them for what you did, and say you're sorry."   
"But I'm not shhorrry!" Bakura protested.   
"You will be tomorrow morning," said Yami. "Come on, Seto's all passed out, let's go home."   
They dragged an unconcious Kaiba to the limo, which looked rather comical considering the two of them had had lots to drink, and Yami had to drag both of them to the limo, where the driver took them home. They deposited Bakura in front of his house. Bakura walked to the front door, only to find it locked, and unable to pick the lock because of all the alcohol he'd had to drink, so he resorted to the one thing he could do:   
"LET ME IN!!" he screamed, pounding on the front door. "LET ME IN RIGHT NOW!"   
"NO!" came the response. Not sure of where his hikari's voice came from, Bakura started looking around in all directions.   
"Up here, you lush! I'm up here in my bedroom, you moron!"   
Bakura stared up at Ryou, eyes glazed over. "How'd you get up there ssho fassht?" He drawled out, the liquor he'd had still affecting his speech.   
"I sprouted wings and I flew," Ryou spat. "How do you think? I've been waiting up here for you to come home, but now I've decided not to let you in because you're being so damn difficult! Find somewhere else to sleep!"   
"Awww..." Bakura trailed off. "NO! LET ME IN RIGHT NOOOOOWWW!" The pounding on the door resumed.   
"I REFUSE TO LET YOU IN UNTIL EVERY TRACE OF BOOZE YOU HAD IS GONE FROM YOUR VEINS!" Ryou shouted back.   
"NO! I DUN WANNA GO ANYWHERE ELSE!"   
"Well TOO BAD!" Ryou paused. "No, wait. I'm letting you in, but only because I want to talk to you."   
Ryou went down the stairs, and a few seconds later, the door unlocked with a click. Bakura was dragged in, and shoved onto the living room couch.   
"What the hell were you thinking?" Ryou growled through clenched teeth.   
"Oh...uh....well...he's pretty..." Bakura gave Ryou a lopsided grin.   
Ryou slapped him hard across the face.   
"OW! What'd you do that for? Now two people have hit me!"   
"Nice obeservation. But I hit you because If I don't get my share of hitting in now I won't get a chance. Marik is out for your blood, and you hit on my BEST FRIEND!"   
"Awww, you jealous?" Bakura asked. "Ya know, maybe the shhiiingle life ain't what itssh cracked up to be, ne?"   
"I'm not jealous!" Ryou snapped. "I'm pissed because you probably won't remember at thing of this tomorrow! You better go apologize to him tomorrow, I don't care how sick you feel. I bet you have one hell of a hangover in the morning. Well, good night. The trash can is under the desk if you need to puke."   
Bakura sat there with a blank, confused look on his face.   
And with that, he shut a dazed Bakura in the den and locked the door, and went up to bed.   
"HEY! LET ME OUT!" Bakura pounded at the door, but later gave up and fell asleep. 

Meanwhile, at the Ishtar residence, Malik was having a fit.   
"He HIT on me? Can you believe that? And it wasn't some cute line or anything, either. It was CHEESY! And totally perverted! GAAAH! Yuck! And he touched me!" Malik sat down on the couch and fumed.   
"Stupid tomb-robbing bastard! I can't believe he even came NEAR you, let alone hit on you...oh, I'll kill him, and then I'll cut his balls off...wait, reverse that order..." Marik was kicking around a kitty toy that he'd found under the couch.   
"Marik, STOP. I don't want to think about it right now. I just...I have this feeling..." Malik flipped his hair a bit.   
"What kind of feeling?" Marik asked warily.   
"That even if I ignore him, he won't go away."   
Both boys let out a groan. 

_ The next morning...._

Bakura woke up the next morning, with, not surprisingly, the worst hangover one could ever imagine.   
"Oooargh..." He crawled to the desk and threw up, narrowly missing the carpet. His head was pounding. He stood up shakily, eyes falling to a picture of Ryou and Marik on the desk.   
Marik.   
Marik was out for his blood.   
Ryou had told him. Buy why?   
The events of last night flooded back to him.   
Whoops. That was stupid.   
Very stupid indeed.   
He should probably apologize.   
Yes, he would indeed apologize.   
He had planned on talking to Malik that night...but it seemed that the booze messed things up quite a bit.   
"Fuck...." He collapsed onto the small couch in the den. "Why did I do that? Dammit!"   
His stomach gave a lurch.   
"Stupid me..." he grumbled, and threw up again.   
He sat there for a few more hours, waiting for Ryou to unlock the den door, and throwing up occasionally. He thought a lot about Malik, and realized that he had to make things right with Malik, no matter what it took. He didn't mean what he did, and he wanted Malik to know that. And...a date with Malik might be nice, after all.   
When Ryou finally let Bakura out he'd decided that he'd do whatever it took to get back on good terms with Malik. After a strong dose of Ibuprophen and downing a packet of Marik's secret hangover cure(contents unknown, though it did work well), off he went to apoligize to Malik. He set off towrards the house, praying to every god and goddess he knew that Marik wouldn't be there, or anywhere near there. Sure, he and Marik were good friends, but when the well-being of his hikari was threatened, he turned into more of a monster than he already was.   
Bakura didn't have to reach the house to find who he was looking for. He found Malik on the sidewalk, looking as if he was trying to blow off steam from what happened that night. Bakura quickly formulated a plan in his head. He knew exactly what he'd say, and what he'd do. He'd look Malik in the eye and say, "Look, I know I was drunk and stupid last night, but I don't do that on a regular basis, and I'm sorry for what I said, and what I did. So...forgive me?." And maybe, just maybe, Malik would swoon into his arms and they'd live happily ever after.   
Yeah, right.   
Bakura's impromptu plan disintegrated as soon as he had Malik in his sights. He regretted the words the instant they left his mouth.   
"Hey pretty."   
Malik whirled around, knowing the voice. "YOU!" he screeched. "What, you're stalking me now, hoping to get into my pants?"   
"No! I-"   
"You what, Bakura? You're going to throw another line at me? Do your worst." He turned around and walked back towards his house.   
_Fine,_ Bakura thought. _He said it, not me..._   
"Heaven must be missing an angel?"   
"Nope, try harder." Malik walked faster, but Bakura's long legs kept up.   
"You're so fine, you'd slip through a colander?"   
"Getting colder." Malik broke into a run.   
"Okay, here's one. Once I knew two people who didn't fall in love. They both died horribly the following day. Makes you think."   
Malik stopped, and slowly walked towards him.   
Bakura raised a silver eyebrow. "Yeees?"   
Malik slowly shook his head. "Nooooo."   
Bakura let out a sigh. "What does it take to get through to you?"   
"Oh, don't you wish you knew." Malik snarled, turned on one heel, and walked home, leaving a bewildered Bakura standing there. His stomach was doing little flippity-flops. But he caught the look in Malik's eyes before he had left.   
"I think I just did," he murmured to himself. With that in mind, he walked back home.   
______________________________ 

Wheeee! Chapter one finished. Footnotes...   
(1) Many thanks for TheSpark for the pickup lines. (I'm putting this as a disclaimer so I don't get the pants sued off of me.)   
Okay, that's better. Much much better. The storyline makes more sense now(I think), and if it doesn't, I promise it will make more sense in the future. For some reason I'm having a hell of a time getting the ideas from my head converted into words on the screen. Anywho, read and review please, and I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in months. I'll try to get on top of it. Once I graduate, I'll be writing lots more. 

It will get better. I promise. ^_^   
Ja ne!   
-OtakuChild   



	2. Exasperation

Sweet in Disguise   
Written By OtakuChild   
DISCLAIMER: I own Yu-GI-Oh! Kazuki Takahashi sold it to me last night on eBay! Did I also mention that I am a filthy liar? ^_^ 

Okay, chappie two underwent a refit as well. See chapter one for explanation. 

Blegh. Stupid computer loves to throw tantrums. Though I noticed when I installed the antivirus software that the corrupted files are no longer corrupted. So does this mean no more fits? *knocks on wood*   
Okies, chapter two is up! Um, I don't want to say much to give it away. ^_^ I'll just let you read it! ^_^ 

WARNINGS: Shonen Ai, Innuendo, OOC-ness, AU, sporadic Marik, hungover Kaiba. 

Chapter Two: Exasperation 

Malik flung open the door to the small house he shared with his Yami and sister, and slammed the door. The whole house shook with impact, and a few pots fell off their hooks in kitchen.   
"I HATE BAKURA!" he screamed. Then he went into his room, ignoring the fallen cookware, to find his yami lounging on the bed.   
"I sense hostility..." Marik said sarcastically.   
"Oh gee, nice of you to notice!" Malik snapped. "And why are you in my room, anyway? You have your own room."   
"Yes, but you see, if I were in my room, we wouldn't have the chance to have these lovely talks."   
Malik let out an exasperated sigh.   
"Bakura won't give it up," he spat.   
"Of course not, he doesn't let things drop," Marik said coolly.   
"SHUT UP! You were overprotective last night! What happened to you? And what is that supposed to mean?"   
"Well, first off, I sobered up. Second, it means that Bakura won't give up until he's made things right. Listen, Malik. I care about you, I do, I'm your yami. My job is to protect you. If I actually thought that Bakura was some horrible sex offender or posed any threat, I'd have killed him by now!" He paused. "Awww, my widdle hikawi is all grown up! He gonna haf a boyfriend! I'm so proud!"   
And Marik launched into a fit of fake crying.   
"SHUT UP!" Malik whomped Marik with a pillow. "And get out of my room!"   
Marik got up and lazily walked to the door. "Somebody's pissy. Is it that time of the month already?"   
Malik's reply was to throw a tube of eyeliner(1) at his yami, which hit him squarely between the eyes.   
"OW! Fuck! Fine, I'm going! I'm going!" Marik took off down the hall.   
Malik closed his eyes in an effort to relax, and ended up falling asleep. He awoke half an hour later to Marik.   
"HIKARI! PHONE!!!"   
Malik sat up and rubbed his eyes.   
"HIKARIIIIIII! PHOOOONE!!!"   
"I'M COMING!" he yelled. He lazily made his way downstairs to be greeted by Marik, who was smiling sweetly.   
"It's your boyfriend."   
"Fuck off, he's not my boyfriend."   
"He will be."   
"No he won't."   
"Yes he will."   
"Just give me the damn phone!"   
Marik handed Malik the phone, who thanked him with a middle finger.   
"What do you want?" Malik snapped. "You know what, you're such an arrogant ass. First you hit on me, at a bar, when you're _drunk,_ and then you hit on me the next day when you're sober, and then you wake me up from my nap, all to try and get me to sleep with you like I'm some easy slut!! What is wrong with you?"   
"I am not an arrogant ass!" Bakura retorted on the other line. "Beautiful yes, but-"   
_Click._   
Malik hung up the phone in disgust. "Sexist pig," he spat. He headed back up to finish his nap, but the phone rang again.   
"Listen Bakura, I know it's you!" he said into the phone. "Let me say this slowly so you can understand. I DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP WITH YOU IN ANY WAY. This also includes kissing, groping, fondling, foreplay, and all other touching or interaction not stated herein. Furthermore, If you call me again, I will install caller blocking on my phone and call the police, and if you still don't get it, I'll enroll in the witness protection program and you will never be able to find me."   
"MALIK! It's Ryou. I called to apologize on Bakura's behalf, because he's either too uneducated or horny to apologize, I'm not sure which."   
"Oh...Ryou! What did I do to deserve this?" Malik sat down.   
"I don't know...I've often wondered that myself." Ryou twirled a strand of hair in his fingers. "Anywho, here's the plan. I'm going to stay at Yugi's for awhile, so any calls from the house will most likely be Bakura. I'm just letting you know where I'll be."   
Malik smiled. "Okay. But, do you think he's actually going to shut up?"   
"I doubt it. I mean, he's Bakura. I'll talk to him, see if there's any reason to his madness."   
"Is there ever?" Malik rubbed his eyes.   
"Let's hope this is the one time there is."   
They said their good-byes and hung up. Malik was intent on finishing his nap, but was interrupted yet again when the phone rang. He let it ring. The machine picked it up.   
"Helloooooooooo, you've reached the Domino City Funny farm. To report a psychotic incident, press 1. To retrieve information on a patient, press 2. Those of you who realize I'm shitting you can leave a message after the beep."   
Malik let out a groan. _I TOLD Marik not to change the outgoing message!_ he thought. The machine beeped, and Bakura's voice rang through the kitchen.   
"Heeeey pretty, I know you're there."   
Malik scowled.   
"Pick up the phone, pretty."   
_I will not pick up the phone!_   
"Fine, don't pick up the phone. But sooner or later, I'll find you. Talk to ya later."   
_Click._   
"Great, just what I need," Malik muttered. "A stalker." He unhooked the phone line from the phone itself, and set about locking the doors and windows to keep the former Tomb Robber out, then went back upstairs to salvage what was left of his nap. He awoke later in the evening to loud beeping. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, remembering it was his cell phone. He grabbed it lazily.   
"What?" he snapped.   
"Hey, it's me," said Bakura.   
Malik let out a groan, not noticing the change in Bakura's demeanor. He'd had it. He took a deep breath.   
"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?" he shrieked. "Why do you annoy and irritate me like this? My god, you hit on me when you're WASTED, and then you follow me and throw pick-up lines at me, while you're sober! And then you call me incessantly, trying again to lure me in! What is it about me that makes you do this? What do you want from me? You're driving me insane! I feel stalked! You're scaring me to death! I..._WHY_, Bakura?"   
Silence.   
"Bakura?"   
A sigh.   
"Bakura, I can't take this anymore. Just let me be, I'm hanging up the phone now."   
"WAIT!"   
It was Malik's turn to sigh. "What?"   
"Okay, yeah, it...it was stupid of me, getting drunk and hitting on you like that. I didn't mean to...I'm sorry, and I can see why you'd hate me for it. But...just let me talk to you, hear me out, please. I'm coming over."   
"Coming over? Bakura-"   
Dial tone.   
Malik buried his face in his hands. "Why...?"   
"I told you, he wants to make things right."   
Marik leaned casually in the doorway. "Malik...Bakura and me had a nice little chat this afternoon, while you were napping. I'm not going to tell you all that was said, but I will say this: he feels remorse, and he's certainly not stalking you. Just hear him out, that's all we ask."   
"We? Great, you're both plotting against me now?"   
"No! We're not, Malik." Marik sat down next to Malik on the bed. "I called Bakura, because after the messages left on the machine, even I was starting to worry. The messages, that confrontation the two of you had, it didn't look right. But it's coincidence, that's all it is. Let him come over. Listen to what he has to say. Don't start shouting at him, or throwing things at him, like I know you want to do. But all he wants to do is make amends with you, Malik. He hates to leave things hanging."   
"But then why did he throw pick-up lines at me?"   
"He wouldn't say. I have a feeling he'll explain everything when he comes over. I know you're frustrating, and I pick on you...but when it comes down to it, I'll protect you, Malik. But the longer you put this off and don't confront it, the worse it will get. Don't make it harder than it has to be. Promise me that you'll at least listen to him."   
Malik looked at his feet.   
"Hikari..."   
"Fine."   
Marik clapped a hand on his hikari's shoulder. "I'm going to the store, it's late, nobody will be there...I can shop in peace..."   
Malik arched an eyebrow. He'd learned from experience to treat his yami's odd habits with a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. "Um...okay. Have fun."   
"I most certainly will." Marik gave a wink, headed off down the hall, grabbed his wallet, and headed out the door.   
//If he tries anything, you let me know, little hikari.//   
/I will./   
Malik let out a sigh and flopped back on the bed.   


Bakura rooted around in the refrigerator, intent on finding something specific, the package he had purchased earlier that day. Once he'd found what he was looking for he carefully picked up the fragile package and unwrapped it gently. He took a deep breath.   
"Please hear me out, Malik." He cradled the delicate object and headed out the door to Malik's house, incredibly nervous, and worrying and wondering what to do if the current plan he had fashioned didn't work.   


Malik meandered into the kitchen, intent on finding something to eat. He fished through the freezer until he found his ice cream. "Mmm...caramel..." he cooed to himself. He let nothing get in the way of his caramel. He was getting a spoon out of the silverware drawer when a dreaded voice echoed through the room:   
"You need to upgrade your security system. I got in without a sound."   
Malik whirled around to find Bakura standing sitting on the kitchen table, one hand behind his back.   
"YOU!" he screeched. He grabbed a fork and pointed it at him. "Why can't you just knock on the door like normal people do?"   
"Eh...I...I was afraid you wouldn't let me in," Bakura said sheepishly.   
Malik felt fear well up in him, and paranoia raced through his mind. He was in the house...alone, with Bakura. He remembered what Marik had said. _Hear him out, hear him out, _he thought.   
"There's no need to be scared, I'm not going to hurt you," Bakura said.   
"Why did you come over? Why not just call me again?" Malik asked.   
Bakura walked over and took the item he was hiding behind his back and gently placed it on Malik's head. Malik gasped.   
A crown of dark red roses and baby's breath now sat atop Malik's head. Malik found his voice had gone elsewhere.   
"I want you to hear me out..." Bakura said softly. He looked into Malik's eyes, and Malik couldn't help but stare back into Bakura's eyes, deep brown, like Tiger's Eye. He thought they were kind of pretty, then mentally kicked himself for thinking such a thing, especially about the guy who hit on him.   
"I...I'm not stalking you, honest I'm not. I had no idea that I was going to run into you this morning. I thought you'd be at home."   
Malik just stared, processing what Bakura was saying. Bakura continued.   
"Last night I was a jerk. I shouldn't have gotten drunk and hit on you like that. It was a stupid thing to do, and believe me, I had one hell of a hangover. I still have it. And the pick-up lines were equally as stupid, if not more so, because I was sober when I said them, and I'm sorry I did. I didn't mean to. I had wanted to say something completely different. I wanted to apologize, but out the words came, and I couldn't stop them, and I know that's no excuse for what I did, but it's the only explanation I have.   
"I didn't mean to scare you, I feel awful that I did. All I wanted to do, all I've wanted to do since this morning is make things right. I want you to know that I'm just so sorry for everything, and I won't stop until things are okay between us. I don't want things to be bad. I can't stand it. No more of this hiding. If...if you have any questions, ask them. I will be honest, I won't lie."   
Malik let out a sigh. "Why do you keep calling me pretty?"   
Bakura smiled. "Because it's the truth. I didn't call you that to tick you off, I called you that because you_ are_ pretty. You're beautiful. Your smile, your eyes...there's an air of whimsy about you. It's everything. You can be so quiet at times, and yet so loud and obnoxious, and wild...and the truth is...the truth is that I can't stop thinking about you, there's just something about you, and I didn't want to call you again, but I figured that this was the only way, to get you to just listen to me, after all that I've done. "   
Malik's head was spinning. He'd done what he'd promised Marik, he'd heard Bakura out. But now that he had heard him out, what next?   
"I barely even know you..." he found himself saying. "How can you say this, when you don't even know me?"   
"I don't know you. That's true. It just makes me all the more interested in you, I guess, and to see just what it is that makes my stomach do flippity-flops." Bakura felt dizzy. Here he was, baring his sould to a boy he didn't really know, a boy who really wasn't that fond of him.   
Bakura took a step forward. "Come here, Malik."   
Malik complied, not really knowing why. Bakura took Malik's hand. "You intrigue me, Malik Ishtar," he said. "I don't know what it was that made me feel this, but it's there. I didn't talk to you much before, even when Marik was around(3), because I never knew what to say. I was inexplicably afraid I would say something dumb, and I wondered why I even cared. Then I got wasted at the bar, and things just happened. But...I can't stand it anymore. I want to know what it is about you that I find so fascinating. I promise I won't try anything. One date, that's all I ask. I promise I won't try anything or get drunk."   
Malik felt the resolve he had against Bakura crumble away, suddenly feeling safe and secure in Bakura's presence. He felt protected, and that he had nothing to lose.   
"A date I believe I can accomodate."   
Bakura's face broke into a grin. "I...uh...wow. Thank you. You won't regret this, I promise."   
Bakura slowly pulled Malik into a hug, and felt a wave of relief when Malik hugged back. Malik felt warm and cozy in Bakura's arms. They stayed that way for what seemed like ages, until Bakura finally broke the embrace. He smiled down at Malik, who returned it with a small grin. They slowly made their way to the front door.   
"So, um...I'll pick you up then, at around 8 o'clock?" Bakura asked.   
"That sounds fine." Malik stared at his feet, suddenly feeling nervous, and wondering where it came from.   
"Good. I'll see you then."   
A pause.   
"Good night Bakura," Malik said softly.   
"Good night, Pretty." Bakura smiled and gently traced a hand along Malik's cheekbone, and Malik returned the smile. Then Bakura turned and started home.   
Malik watched him until he turned the corner and was out of sight.   
___________________ 

Wheeeee! It is done!!!   
As for 'Faery Ring,' I have this dreadful case of writers block. -_-'   
On Sunday I leave for camp for two weeks, I will be checking in at the end of the first week, and at the second, and then it's off to Delaware for another week! I will be checking in, BUT NO UPDATES WILL BE MADE AS I WILL NOT HAVE TIME.   
Footnotes:   
(1)In this fic, those lines that jet out under Malik's eyes are not tattoos, they are drawn with liquid liner. ^^   
(2) Ages in this fic: Malik-18, Ryou-17, Marik-21, Bakura-20.   
(3) Okay, background! Marik and Bakura hang out, drink, cause trouble, yadda yadda. So Malik and Bakura see each other, but have never really talked to each other. 

That's all for now. Let me know what you think! Ja ne!   
-OtakuChild   
  



	3. First Date

Sweet In Disguise   
Written By OtakuChild   
DISCLAIMER: Um...Malik's still wearing clothes in the dub, so I no own. ^^ I also don't own the Fender Guitar Company, or Mortal Kombat, and all that good crap. ^^ *hides*   
Um...yeah! So here's chapter three...their first date! Yahoo! Lotsa fluffy goodness in this one, people!   
Um...yeah! I'm back! Exhausted, yes, but back! So..um...not much else to say, except that here is chapter three! Woo! 

Key:   
/Blah/ = Hikari to Yami   
//Blah// = Yami to Hikari 

Malik is Malik(the hikari).   
Bakura is Yami Bakura. 

WARNINGS:   
Shonen Ai, Malik wearing make-up, Bakura making out with his guitar...^^'' OOC-ness, AU. 

Chapter Three: First Date 

"YAY! My hikari-kins is going on his first date...oh..." Marik let out a fake sniff. "You're very first date, ever, and with a boy! I'm so proud of you!" Marik glomped his hikari.   
"MARIK! Stop! It's a small, non-romantic-in-any-way date to make this whole situation go away!"   
"Oh, yeeeeees," Marik sneered sarcastically. "A crown of roses isn't romantic in any way whatsoever. Niether is tracing a hand along someone's cheekline. Malik, honestly! Who are you kidding?" Marik folded his arms. "I know you like him, not by much, mind you, but you let things seep into the link!"   
"No I don't!" Malik retorted. "You snoop, you look where you shouldn't, and then you get the wrong ideas about things."   
"Fine," Marik said. "Believe what you want, but know this: If you don't confront it, it will confront you."   
And he left Malik to take his shower. 

~.~.~.~ 

Bakura was jumping around his room, hammering riffs on his guitar like it was the last time he'd ever get to play.   
"Yeeeeeah!I got a date with Mallliiiiiiik!" He screeched.   
Ryou slowly backed away from the doorway. "Maybe now isn't a good time to ask him if he's ready..." Ryou said quietly.   
Bakura shut off his Fender amp. "You wanted to ask me something, my odd little hikari?"   
"I'm normal compared to you!" Ryou spat, question forgotten.   
"Ryou, you're love life is nonexistent_._ It worries me. I mean...it's just not healthy, you know?" Bakura set his guitar on its stand and set about polishing it.   
"This isn't about me. You have to pick up Malik in less than an hour!"   
"Would you relax? I'm ready." Bakura said coolly. Indeed, he was wearing a whitepinstripe shirt that said, "PATIENT #17921" on the upper left shoulder, a pair of baggy black jeans, an assorted collection of spiked and studded bracelets and bangles on his wrists, and a spiked collar. Silver safety pins adorned his ears, and he had a modest silver hoop in his right eyebrow. All he was missing were socks and shoes.   
"Besides, he's probably ready too," Bakura said.   
Ryou burst into fits of laugher. "You _soooooo_ don't know Malik, if that's what you think!"   
"Shaddup! That will change tonight!" Bakura put the polish and the polish cloth away, and ignored Ryou. "Oh, my sweet little guitar," he cooed, hugging the stringed instrument. "I wuv you sooo..." He started planting little kisses on the fretboard of the guitar.   
Ryou stopped laughing and looked at the scene. "Um, I'm just...going to leave the two of you alone now," he said, and promptly took off down the hallway.   
Bakura got up and shut the door. "Good Goddess almighty, I thought he'd never leave," he murmured with a smirk.   
/I HEARD THAT!/ 

~.~.~.~ 

"No! It doesn't look right! It-it's _wrong!_"   
Malik tossed the shirt aside, and donned another one.   
"NO! This one doesn't match!"   
"You look fine," Marik said.   
"No I don't! Look at me! I don't match!" Malik said.   
"Malik, you're wearing _black_ jeans. Everything matches black."   
"Yeah, but look at me! This outfit is _wrong!_ It says, 'I can't dress myself because I'm STUPID!'"   
Marik let out a sigh. "You must really like him, you've never been this bent out of shape about your clothes."   
"Ex-_cuse_ me if I want to look nice," Malik snapped. "And I told you, I don't _like _him! Not like that!"   
Marik grinned. "Yes you do."   
"No I don't!"   
"Yes you do!"   
"No I don't!"   
"Oh yeah? Malik, you've been getting ready for this date for the last two _hours. _You're even still oblivious to the fact that you've made a huge mess in your room."   
Malik eyed the piles of clothes on the bed and the floor. "Oh, I made a _mess!" _He shrieked. "I must _clean_!"   
Marik put a restraining arm around him. "Oh, no you don't!" He said. "I'll take care of it."   
Malik yanked off the shirt he had on, and put on another, then studied himself in the mirror. "YES!" he screeched. "This is perfect! Now, accessories..."   
And he dove into the his jewelry box, which was sitting placidly on the dresser. Marik left Malik to his handiwork.   
Malik eventually finished getting ready, and was just checking himself in the mirror when Bakura arrived.   
"MALIIIIK! BAKURRRAAAA'S HEEERE!"   
Malik found himself smiling. He slid down the stair banister, suddenly feeling really nervous.   
"Hey, pretty." Bakura said softly, smiling.   
"Hey," he said shyly, glancing at a spot on the floor.   
_Why am I shy?_ he thought. _This is dumb, I don't even like him! Not like that! I mean...he is nice and all, once you get past the whole drunken dumbass thing...and the roses were romantic, but...NO! I'm doing this to make this all blow over, and he'll get to know me, realize I'm a neurotic, psychotic, emotionally draining mess, and he won't 'like' me anymore. Yeah!_   
He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced up at Bakura, and forced his mouth closed to keep from gaping. He looked closer, and realized that Bakura was doing the same. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, and then Bakura found his voice.   
"Malik...you look beautiful."   
Malik dug his toe into the carpet. "Um..thanks," he said.   
_ God Damn! I'm letting my guard down! I gotta stop that! And why am I so nervous? _Malik thought.   
Malik had on a pair of form-fitting, faded black denim jeans that flared out a bit at the knee, and a dark orange, shimmery button-up dress shirt that also fit his dancer frame(1). The shirt had a slight gold hue when light hit it. He wore black sneakers to match the outfit. But that wasn't all. He wore a gold bracelet on his left wrist, and a watch on the other, and a gold band choker around his throat. Gold ankhs hung from his ears, and he had a gold ring on the cuff of his left ear as well. His eyes were lined exotically with black liquid liner, and his eyelids were dusted with an orangish-goldish eyeshadow that matched his shirt. His lips shined a bit with clear lip gloss.   
Bakura resisted the urge to dip him and shove his tounge down Malik's throat, and instead walked to Malik and gave him a tight hug. Malik put his arms around Bakura's neck, and hugged back.   
"You look really handsome too, Bakura," he whispered. Inside Malik's head was a whirlwind of emotion and chaotic thoughts.   
_ Oh, NO! Why did I say that! BAD MALIK! Okay...um...to fix the situation...be distant the whole night! YEAH! I'm a genius! Good gods he's so handsome...NO! Keep those thoughts at bay, Malik!_   
Malik shut his eyes in an effort to shut his mind up so he could think rationally, and remembered where he was: caught in a hug with the man who caused the mental tornado.   
"Why thank you," Bakura whispered back. He didn't expect Malik to call him handsome, and it made him all the happier. He regretfully released the hug, and Malik went over to Marik, who had escaped into the kitchen some time before to give the boys some privacy.   
"Hey, we're going now!" Malik crooned cheerfully, grabbing his wallet on the way to the door.   
"Wait! Let me check you over..." Marik ran to his hikari and gave him a once-over. "Okay! You're good to go!"   
Malik walked to the door, but Marik held Bakura back.   
"Listen, Bakura. I know how you feel about Malik, and I have no problem with you dating him, just know this. If you try anything weird with Malik, I will know, and you might just wake up missing some limbs, and other certain appendages. Do you understand?"   
"Yes, I do," Bakura said seriously. "I'll have him home safe and sound, and I won't let him out of my sight." Bakura said.   
"Good," Marik said. "Have fun."   
"We will. See ya!"   
"Bye, Marik!" Malik yelled from the entry room. Bakura followed Malik out the door. Once out in the cool night air Malik opened his wallet to make sure he had money and the proper legal identification, and, seeing it was there, looked to Bakura.   
"Okay, I have everything. Let's go."   
They headed off in the direction of the arcade, side by side. After they turned the corner Bakura took his hand. Malik squeezed it back appreciativley, to his surprise. They continued walking in silence. Malik lost himself in his thoughts, letting Bakura lead him to the arcade. He was still nervous, no doubt about that, and a little scared. He was nauseated from the nervousness, and he worried that he wouldn't be able to keep dinner down. He reasoned that he just wouldn't eat, or he'd eat very little, but realized that would make Bakura worry, and he didn't want that, and the whole thing make Malik worry even more. And damn, wasn't this supposed to be a non-romantic date? Well, it would be, if his emotions were'nt getting in the way. Why was he feeling this way? He should not be feeling this way about someone who hit on him while drunk in a bar! _SHIT!_ thought Malik.   
"You're nervous."   
Malik jumped a bit at having his thoughts interrupted. "I'm...I...h-how do you know?"   
"Because you're squeezing the life out of my hand, and you're stammering."   
"I...oh." Malik looked down, and they stopped walking. Bakura turned to face Malik, and gently massaged his shoulders.   
"Don't be nervous. Why are you nervous?"   
"Because...I..." Malik was certain if he opened is mouth again he'd be sick, but there was no avoiding Bakura, he realized. "I've never been on a date before, with anyone, and I...I never thought it would be with someone like you...I'm sorry."   
Bakura didn't look hurt, much to Malik's surprise, and then to his relief, Bakura smiled.   
"I know what you mean. Here, let's talk. I think we need to clear some things up." Bakura led Malik to a bench on the sidewalk, and the two sat down. Bakura took a deep breath.   
"Look. I was such an ass at the bar, I still feel guilty. I almost never get drunk, but for some damned reason I got smashed that night. So don't be sorry. And you know what?"   
"What?" Malik looked up at Bakura.   
"I'm nervous too."   
Bakura's words put Malik more at ease. "Hey! You tell me not to be nervous, and then you say that you're nervous!" Malik said, grinning.   
_Non-romantic my ass...oh...damn...who am I kidding? I barely know him, and now I have this crushy feeling...I give up._ Malik thought._ I just hope I'm doing the right thing. I hope it doesn't land me into trouble...or hurt. Who knows, maybe I'll find out why my heart suddenly decided to like him, when a few days before, I hated him. So, keep the screws in, at least this one night, and have some fun._   
"I can't help it! I don't want to do something stupid!" Bakura said.   
They looked at each other for a moment, and then they both started laughing.   
"Maybe the video games will calm us down," Malik said. "Look, I see the arcade! Come on!"   
He grabbed Bakura's hand and they jogged to the arcade. Just before they reached it Bakura let go and started running. "Race you!" he yelled over his shoulder.   
Malik took off after him. "Hey! That's not fair! You got a head start!" But Malik sprinted, and shoved past Bakura towards the door.   
"Hey!" Bakura shoved him back. They started giggling, and made one final sprint to the door. Malik streched out his hand, and so did Bakura, and they both touched it at the exact same moment.   
"I win!" They both said. Then they looked at each other and started laughing again.   
"We tied!" Malik crooned. "What are the odds of that?"   
"Um...I dunno!" Bakura said. "But look! I see Mortal Kombat! Come on!"   
They both entered the arcade, trying to catch their breath. Malik felt giddy, like a little kid, jumping and playing. They went to the change machine, got plenty of quarters, and Bakura led Malik to the Mortal Kombat machine.   
"I know every character fatality," he said proudly, slipping in a quarter and pressing the 'Start' button. "Come on, fight me!"   
"I think I'll just watch..." Malik said, wanting to see what Bakura was talking about. He loved video games, but didn't really follow Mortal Kombat that much.   
"Aww...please? Don't tell me you're going to spend the whole date just watching me."   
"No! I just...I want to watch you play this one, and then I'll play some others. Honest."   
"Pleeeease?"   
"..." Malik looked at the ground again.   
"Pweeeeeeeeeeease? Pwetty Pweeease? Wif sugar and chewwies and ife cweam?"   
Malik looked up at the unexpected, chibi-like plea, and straight into Bakura's eyes, which were tuned into chibi mode.   
"I..."   
Bakura cocked his head to one side, knowing that the chibi face was working.   
_No! _Malik thought. _Must resist chibi eyes! Oh...poo._   
"Okay." Malik said, slipping a quarter into the slot on the right.   
"Yay! I knew that would work." Bakura said with glee. He quickly picked Kung Lao out of the characters, and waited for Malik to do the same.   
"You just got lucky," Malik retorted, and picked Rayden. The game loaded, and the fight began.   
Malik was a bit clumsy on the controls, not knowing what to do. Bakura wasn't holding back, and that made it that much harder. Malik got an evil thought into his head.   
"Ohmygosh! Look!" He shouted, waving his arms frantically and pointing. "It's the lead singer of The Scorpions(2)! And he's looking at you!"   
"What? You're kidding? Where?" Bakura turned to look, and while unguarded, Malik made several attacks on his character.   
"I win!" He cheered.   
"Hey! You cheater!" Bakura said, but he was smiling. "I'll get you for that!"   
Malik burst into giggles. During round two Bakura sneaked a hand behind Malik and started tickling him profusely.   
"Ahhh-AAAAAHHHHH!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!" Malik started laughing hysterically, and slid to the floor. Bakura attacked, and won the fight, then helped Malik back up.   
"I told you I'd get you back," he purred in Malik's ear.   
The tone of voice sent shivers up Malik's spine, but they were good shivers. Bakura showed off a few charachter fatalities, but decided to move on to a different game when a sideways glance revealed that Malik's tanned complexion was turning a shade of green.   
They spent the next few hours playing video games, sometimes splitting up, sometimes staying together, but always having a blast. Malik had no idea that Bakura could be so much fun...when he wasn't getting drunk and hitting on him, that is. ^^   
They eventually made their way to the pizza place down the street. Bakura held the door for Malik, and they walked to the counter to place their order.   
"May I take your order?" The woman at the cash regisher said.   
"Yes, we'll be eating here," Bakura said. "Um...what size do you want, Malik?"   
"Whatever size you want." Malik shifted his weight from foot to foot. The nerves from the beginning of the night had vanished, and a wave of self-conciousness. He wasn't comfortable with eating in front of Bakura in the slightest.   
"Well I was going to go with what size _you _wanted," Bakura said sheepishly.   
"Oh...well...meduim I guess," Malik said sheepishly.   
"Okay, medium it is. What toppings do you want?"   
"Whatever toppings you want, I guess." Malik said. "Just no meat."   
Bakura raised an eyebrow.   
Malik looked at the floor again. "I...uh...I'm a vegetarian."   
"It's okay." Bakura gave Malik's shoulder a comforting squeeze.   
It was decided that Bakura's half would have nothing but meat, and that Malik's half would have all veggies. They paid for the pizza and recieved their ticket, and walked off to find a table.   
"Where do you want to sit?" Bakura asked.   
"Wherever you want to sit," Malik replied.   
"But I want to sit where you want to sit," Bakura said, folding his arms.   
"Well I want to sit wherever you want to sit," Malik said, grinning.   
"Well then...uh...we'll sit there!" Bakura pointed to a random booth by the far wall of the building.   
"Okay then! YAY!" Malik said. Bakura led a giggling Malik to the aforementioned booth.   
Malik collapsed in the seat across from Bakura and stretched his arms.   
"Whoooaaaah! That was fun!" He crooned.   
Bakura was sitting a little uncomfortably, trying desperatley not to gaze at the tan crecent of stomach Malik's stretching exposed.   
Malik finished his stretching and leaned back into the bench, resting his hands in his lap, never once noticing Bakura's discomfort.   
There was a slight pause.   
Well, there would have been a slight pause, except that neither of them could find anything to say, now that they weren't distracted by video games.   
So the pause dragged on into an awkward silence.   
It was Bakura who broke it.   
"Soooo..." he said, a little uneasy, "You're a vegetarian."   
"Yup." Malik leaned his head on his hand.   
"May I...ask why?"   
"I've just grown up that way, I think. I've never really wanted to eat meat, I went without for so long that my stomach gets upset if I eat it(3)."   
"Ah, I see."   
More silence.   
"So..." Malik asked. "What do you do in your spare time?"   
"Well...I play the guitar...(4)" Bakura said. "It's more like an obsession. I love it. I'm always tabbing songs, or writing solos. Trying to tab Metallica and Van Halen solos are the most fun." He smiled. "Sometimes I write stuff, and sometimes I sing, but mostly I play covers. I don't know why, maybe it's because I know it'll turn out okay."   
Malik was listening in awe, trying not to let his draw drop into his lap.   
Bakura smiled. "Didn't expect that outta me, did you?"   
Malik slowly shook his head. "No...but...I mean...that's awesome! Wow! I..." he felt his cheeks grow hot, "I always wondered what it would be like to go out with a musician."   
"Really?"   
"Yeah. There's just...something to them, something I like," he said. "There's a depth to them, I think, like they can appreciate things in life that others can't..." he stared at his lap.   
Bakura smiled. "You think so? I agree, I don't think I've ever met a shallow musician, though I suppose they're out there."   
"Just not here," Malik said, grinning sheepishly, and started to giggle when he noticed Bakura had begun to blush. They sat for a few minutes, feeling the chemistry in the air, and not really knowing what to do next. It was Bakura who broke the silence, mentally noting that it was taking forever for the pizza to arrive.   
"So...what do you do, in your spare time?" Bakura asked.   
"Oh geez..." Malik thought for a minute. "I have no life. Spend time on the computer, sleep, shop, make prank calls to my sister while she's at work...and...I yell at squirrels."   
Bakura tried not to laugh, but a chuckle escaped his lips anyway. "You yell at squirrels."   
"Yes, I do."   
"Why do you yell at squirrels?"   
"Because squirrels are the root of all evil," Malik stated matter-of-factly.   
"And how are squirrels evil?" Bakura leaned his chin on his hand.   
"Well, you see, they are conspiring against us. Everyone thinks they'rs _soooo cuuute_ nibbling at their little walnuts and accorns but if you look closely, they have this evil glint in their eye, like they know something we don't, like something's coming."   
"Oh..you mean, like the apocalypse?" Bakura's eyes had an amused glint to them.   
"Well, not that dramatic," Malik said. "I think it's more of a squirrel-takeover. Like they're plotting the demise of humanity."   
It was at this point in the conversation that the pizza arrived, and both realized that they were starving. They dug into the pizza, squirrels and guitars forgotten. Well, Bakura dug in, but Malik took small, nibbly bites, afraid of getting something on his face, or worse, something in his teeth.   
A few minutes later Bakura spoke up. "So, Malik, you said you were really interested in my playing the guitar. Do you play any musical instruments?"   
"Well..." Malik swallowed. "I play the drums(5). And I sing. Oh, and I worship Led Zeppelin. Everyone thinks I'm psycho for that."   
"I don't think you're psycho for that." Bakura said. "I think you're psycho because you yell at squirrels."   
Malik started laughing hysterically.   
"You see," said Bakura, "This proves my point!" Malik continued to laugh, and Bakura joined in as well. After a few seconds they both calmed down, and just gazed into each other's eyes. Malik felt more butterflies in his stomach. Bakura thought about how he could get lost in Malik's lavender eyes, and fought another blush.   
Malik felt a yawn coming but tried to stifle it. It didn't work, and he covered his mouth to hide the yawn. Bakura noticed the yawn and checked his watch. The numbers read 11:45 PM.   
"It is getting late," he pointed out.   
"Meh, I don't mean to get sleepy..." Malik rubbed the bridge of his nose.   
"Malik, it's almost midnight. I promised Marik I'd have you home by then."   
"Oh!" Malik jerked awake. "We need to go then...I don't want him mad at you."   
"Yeah, I like being alive..." Bakura mused.   
"Being alive is good."   
After packing their respective halves of the pizza in to-go boxes, they started down the sidewalk towards Malik's house, hand in hand. To pass the time they talked. They talked about favorite bands and computer stuff and webpages and Bakura explained why Malik's frames wouldn't work.   
"You see, the index page houses all the tags. You can't just put them on the main part of where you want the frames to go."   
"Oh, that explains it...duh..." Malik smiled, and leaned into Bakura a bit. "How did you get so computer-savvy?"   
"When I'm not playing guitar I'm usually on the computer," Bakura said, a little embarrased. "I'm kind of a geek."   
"Geeks are cool. Geeks run the world, you know."   
"Yeah, I guess I'm kind of a closet geek."   
Malik started laughing, but tripped over a crack in the cement and went flying. He let out a gasp, sure he was going to hit the ground and crack his head open. He was caught in midair by Bakura, who gently set him down, and kept an arm around him to help him regain his balance. Malik let out a shaky sigh of relief.   
"Wow. Th-thanks," he breathed.   
"It's nothing. I can't bring you home injured, now, can I?" Bakura smiled down Malik, and Malik felt safe and content in Bakura's arms. He felt himself drift off again.   
"Here," Bakura hoisted Malik behind him, piggy-back style. "I'll carry you home." Bakura took both pizza boxes.   
Malik closed his eyes and held onto Bakura tightly, enjoying the feeling of being carried. All too soon they reached Malik's house, and Bakura carefully set him down, then turned to face him.   
"We're here," he said softly.   
Malik felt a bit nervous again. "Yeah. We're here..."   
"It's a beautiful night."   
"It is." They looked at the clear, starry sky for a few minutes, both not really knowing what to do.   
"Well...I had tons of fun tonight, Bakura. Thank you," Malik finally said.   
"You're very welcome, Malik." Bakura tentativley trailed a hand down Malik's cheek. "May I...kiss you?" he whispered, almost childlike.   
"Yes," Malik whispered back. _Kissmekissmekissmekissme! Kiss me, you wonderful handsome gentleman!_   
Bakura gently leaned in and kissed Malik. It was so soft, one of the softest things that Malik had ever felt. Bakura didn't try to tounge him, he just captured Malik's lips in a soothing, wonderful kiss. Malik wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck, and Bakura wrapped his arms around Malik's waist. The stayed that way until they had to pull back for air, then dived back in for another kiss, which went the same as the first kiss. Bakura tucked a stray blonde strand of hair behind Malik's ear.   
"I had fun too." he purred. "Call me, Malik. I don't care how nervous you get."   
"I will. I promise," Malik giggled.   
They both smiled. "Good night Malik, sweet dreams." Bakura gave Malik his pizza box.   
"Good night Bakura. You have sweet dreams too."   
Bakura smiled, and Malik gave a final kiss on the cheek, and Malik turned and opened the door, flashing a bright smile before going in, and closing the door.   
Bakura smiled back, turned around, and walked back home, humming the whole way, so happy it felt euphoric.   
He calmed himself, tossed the pizza in the refrigerator, walked upstairs to his room, and set about getting ready for bed, washing off the eye makeup he had put on, and changing into a pair of pajama pants. He shut off the light and flopped down onto the bed, lost in thought. He thought about the kiss. He put a finger to his lips. He could still taste Bakura.   
"Oh my god," he said to himself, shaky. "I...I want him to kiss me again...oh man. He's...he's so wonderful...he's handsome and smart and charming and funny and a perfect gentleman...oh, and he's a _musician!_ He's like...he's like..."   
"The man of your dreams? Is that what you were going to say?"   
Malik jerked upright, glaring at the door.   
"I thought you said it was going to be a small, non-romantic-in-any-way date."   
"MARIK!" Malik yelled, throwing a pillow at his nosy dark half. "It's non of your business, you...you spy! You snoop! You voyeur! Out!"   
"What? I just glanced out the window and saw you two kissing! That's hardly non-romantic. I'd say someone had fun, ne? I think you've changed your mind about him." Marik winked.   
"We are not talking about this now!" Malik snapped. "Get out of my room!"   
The house echoed with Marik's laugher as Malik got into bed and fell asleep, and Marik went back to his own room.   
During the night Malik had a dream in which he was walking in a lush forest filled with flowers and greenery. There was a beautiful creek weaving through the trees, and a bridge going across it. He went to cross the bridge, and suddenly it gave way, and he fell through black darkness, screaming in fear, the forest gone. He was scared, and started to cry, when he heard a familiar voice.   
"Don't worry, I've got you," the voice said. Malik recognized the voice as Bakura's, and he felt himself hit something, and realized he was no longer falling. Bakura had caught him. He started to cry again, this time out of relief. Bakura held him close stroking his hair and wiping away his tears, soothing him and assuring him that everything would be alright.   
Malik jerked awake, and realized he had been crying in his sleep. He remembered the dream.   
"Bakura..."   
He couldn't go back to sleep.   
_______________________   
Footnotes:   
(1) I've always felt that Malik had more of a dancer's body, trim, but not overly muscular, like a bodybuilder. *shudders*   
(2) The Scorpions are a heavy metal band that reached the height of their success in the 80s. I always thought of them as a band that Bakura would listen to. I think the genre of 80s metal(Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Scorpions, etc.) fit Malik and Bakura really well. For fun I also threw in Led Zeppelin. ^_^ Come to think of it, the Scorpions are _such_ a Bakura/Malik band. ^_^   
(3) I made Malik a vegetarian, because I think it fits into his character pretty well. The background info he gives doesn't reflect the true YGO storyline in any way. I just made it up, to give substance. ^_^   
(4) I made Bakura a guitarist(and a really talented one at that) for the fic.   
(5) I made Malik a drummer for the same reason. Malik just seems like a drummer type. ^.^ 

Woot! I'm dancing on the clouds right now, amazed I actually got this chapter done. I'm liking this one much better than the other two, I think it finally got the storyline rolling a bit. 

I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. Don't kill me! *dodges tomatoes and kumquats* 

Read and review, pretty please, and I'll get started on chapter four!   
-OtakuChild   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Euphoria

Sweet in Disguise   
Written by OtakuChild   
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, blah...fweeeeeeeeee!! flings leftover Easter candy 

Hmm...   
My computer screen has obtained a nice, obnoxious pink tint to it. I can't stare at it for long periods of time, or my eyes burn. Yahoo. 

Okay! Review Responses... 

Kira-Kura: hugs Yay! Thanks for sticking it out! I missed not being able to write. I'll be okay with the credits. I finally worked out a schoolwork system...now that I graduate in two months. '' I can't stop in the middle of writing a fic. I HAVE to finish it. I hate leaving things hanging. Must be the Aries in me. Bakura/Malik rocks! They're my absolute fav couple. 

I'm throwing in some Marik/Ryou fluff in here. I love the couple, they're kawaii! 

**WARNING: Shonen Ai, eventual Yaoi. Don't like, Don't read. Spoken.**

Chapter Four: Euphoria 

He was running.   
Running through dark forests, looking, searching for something. Someone.   
Searching for him.   
He was in trouble.   
Horrible, dangerous trouble.   
He had to find him before it was to late.   
_Malik..._   
Bakura kept running. He didn't tire, didn't think about it at all, just kept running and searching.   
He heard a scream.   
_Malik!_   
"Don't worry, I've got you," he said, praying that Malik would hear. It became clear in his head where Malik was, and he raced to the area to find Malik falling, crying, scared.   
He held up his arms, and caught Malik. Miraculously, he wasn't knocked to the ground, but this was the last of his thoughts as he held Malik, crooning softly to him to calm him down, soothing him, stroking his hair, and assuring him that everything would be okay, and that he'd protect him.   
Bakura jerked awake, and flew upright. His breathing was shaky and uneven, and he was sweating.   
"Malik..."   
He lay back down and stared at the ceiling, and within minutes he was back into the depths of dark, dreamless sleep.   
He awoke the next morning to loud crashing noises outside his door. A little ticked at being woken up, he burrowed under the covers and stuffed his head under the pillow to shut out the noise, but it was in vain. The crashings continued, and then his bedroom door opened.   
"Yamiii!!!!" Ryou squeaked.   
"Wha...whathefuck?" Bakura poked his head out from under the fluffy comforter. "Go away, pipsqueaky. Why are you being so noisy?"   
"To show you what it's like to be me, three nights a week," Ryou snapped. "Anywho...how was your date?"   
"None of your business, squeeb. Lemme sleep!" He threw a pillow at Ryou.   
"Bakura! It's noon!"   
"Exactly why I need to sleep. Go away."   
"No."   
Bakura sat up and glared at Ryou through squinty, sleepy eyes. His hair was a wild, tangled mess, with spikes pointing every-which way. It was like his normal hair, times twenty.   
"What's gotten into you? You always say you don't want to know, and now you're prying into my love life."   
"Well, that's because you finally _have_ a love life," Ryou said. "But I say I don't want to know because I really don't need to know other personal details about you, like when you have to take a leak, or a dump, or something."   
Bakura grinned. "I always love to share, except for now. I'm not telling you about the date."   
Ryou's eyes narrowed. "Oh my god, Bakura. WHAT DID YOU DO? You copped a feel, didn't you? Or you made a lewd comment, or something!"   
"I DID NOT! The date was wonderful, and he was sweet, and we played video games and ate pizza and talked about squirrels and music and he laughed and smiled and even tripped on a crack in the cement but I caught him and he blushed and he even let me kiss him. Twice. And he didn't want to go home, but I promised Marik I'd have him home before midnight, and I did. I didn't hit on him, or feel him up, or get drunk. NYAH!" Bakura dove back under the covers.   
Ryou started giggling. "Thank you, that's what I wanted to know. I knew I'd find a way to get details out of you somehow." He jumped off the bed and skipped rather effeminatley out of the room.   
"Wha...?" Bakura pieced together what had just happened, and he snapped awake. "RYOU! I'LL GET YOU!"   
Ryou's laughter echoed through the house. 

Meanwhile, at the Ishtar Residence... 

"Say it."   
"No."   
"Say it."   
"No."   
"_Say_ it."   
"NO! Leave me alone!"   
Marik tackled his hikari to the floor. "Say it! You have to say it, or wear the tiara."   
"No! Anything but the tiara!" Malik wiggled and squirmed, but his yami was far stronger than himself.   
"Then SAY it, I know you want to, and we both know I'm right." Marik sat on Malik, grinning maliciously.   
"Fine," Malik spat. "Bakura is not a crazed, drunken sexual pervert."   
"And?" Marik raised a pierced eyebrow.   
"And he's _nice,_ and he's _charming,_ and he's kind, and caring..." Malik started to blush. "And sweet, and smart, and funny, and a perfect gentleman, oh Marik, he even held the door for me! And he plays the guitar! And listens to the same music I do! He's sharp, and clever, and witty..." He closed his eyes, remembering the kiss.   
"...and?"   
"...and...oh DAMMIT!" Malik pushed his way out from underneath Marik. "And I'm not supposed to be feeling like this!" He flopped down onto the living room couch. _And the dream! What the fuck was up with that dream?_ The dream had been haunting his thoughts for most of the day. He tried to shake it off, but to no avail.   
"And why not? You said so yourself, Malik, he's a gentleman, and charming, and smart, and funny, and I heard you babbling on last night about him."   
"Shut up!" Malik screeched. "You don't understand! It's too soon! It's so sudden, I mean, it's ONE date, that's all it was, and now all this feely-stuff is whirling around in my stomach less than twenty-four hours after the date! It's not right...I...I don't like it!" _And I had that dream...it felt so real. What does it mean?_   
"You don't like it, because you can't control it."   
"That's not true!"   
"Yes it is. Malik, you're a control freak. You have to have everything perfectly organized and if one fiber on the carpet gets out of place, you throw a fit. You have to control everything you get your hands on, the way you feel, the way the day goes, etc. You can't control how you feel about Bakura, and you don't like it."   
Malik didn't respond. 

Bakura was sitting idly by the phone, fingers tapping impatiently, letting out the occasional sigh. The dream he had occasionally flitted through his head. He wondered what it meant. Ryou came down the stairs, and to the refridgerator, looking for food.   
"I take it he still hasn't called?" Ryou asked.   
"Oh Ryou! I'm worried!" Bakura said. "I mean, something could be wrong! What if he's hurt, and can't get to the phone, or he stopped breathing?" He let out a horrified gasp. "Oh Ra, what if he's _dead?"_   
Ryou sauntered across the room, and slapped Bakura across the face. "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Ryou yelled. "Good god, he's just fine! He probably hasn't called because he's running errands! Or busy! Or..."   
Bakura held his cheek. "Or what?"   
"Or maybe, just maybe, Bakura, he's scared. I'd be scared too, If I knew they creepy drunk guy who hit on me was sitting by the phone, waiting for me to call." Ryou smirked.   
"I am NOT a creepy drunk guy! I got drunk once! I didn't mean for that to happen! But...last night was so wonderful...we clicked, I thought. He had fun...I think..."   
"Oh, bah! You need to get off that stool you've been sitting on for hours, and get away from the phone, and stop obsessing!" Ryou said, exsaperated.   
"Yeah...I gues you're right. I have some things I need to do anyway." Bakura slid off the stool, and got a popsicle out of the freezer. He strode out of the kitchen and into the den, pondering the dream yet again. He reasoned that unless the dream actually became reality, he had nothing to worry about, and so he proceeded to the abovementioned destination.   
Ryou smiled, glad he wasn't obsessing over the phone anymore. He went back upstairs, but stopped abruptly when he saw Bakura sitting by the den phone, his cheek rested on his palm, staring at the phone lovingly.   
"BAKURAAA!!!"   
_Slap!_   
"OW!" 

"I'm right, ne?"   
Malik still hadn't responded. He couldn't stop thinking about the dream. _What does it mean? I don't...understand..._   
"Deep down inside, we both know I'm right. So I'm going to say this: Don't fight it. Don't even try, because if you do, you'll end up getting hurt, and you'll hurt Bakura as well. Yes, the feelings are moving fast, but that doesn't mean the relationship has to. Take the time to really know him, take it slow. It'll be more fun that way. Bakura won't hurt you, I promise. He's not like that."   
"What makes you think there will be a relationship?" Malik asked warily.   
"Malik, the two of you hit it off. There's no denying that. The sparks flew, and when all was said and done, you kissed him _twice._ I only got one kiss on my first date."   
"Marik, _he_ kissed _me._ And when have you gone on a date?"   
"You kissed him back, and you kissed him again after that. And I go on dates! I have a love life too! I just never tell you."   
Malik saw a golden opportunity to change the subject, and get some revenge at the same time.   
"Say...I've told you heaps about my love life, how 'bout you tell me about yours? You never bring anybody home...you never call anybody...when did you go on a date?"   
Marik's eyes widened. _Oops. I spilled the beans. How am I going to clean them up?_   
"Well, I don't bring boys home. I haven't found the right one yet. But there has been one, yes. Let's just leave it at that." Marik crossed his arms proudly.   
"Oh, no, you're not getting off that easy," Malik said. It was his turn to show a malicious grin. "Who is he? Come on, you can tell me."   
Marik was panicking, though his face didn't show it. "Let's just say he's closer than you might think." he pretended to think. "You know, come to think of it, there's a few things I need to get at the store that I forgot about before. I best be going. Bye!" He grabbed his jacket and took off out the door.   
Malik grinned. "I'll find out sooner or later!" he yelled.   
He sat back down on the couch, trying to decipher the dream.   
_Forest...peaceful forest...yet it's decieving, because the bridge gave way when I walked on it..._   
_Falling...falling through inky darkness...I felt so hopeless..._   
_Bakura's voice. Where did it come from? Why was it there? It felt...protecting...and then..._   
..._I fell into his arms. He was so comforting, soothing, I felt so much better..._   
_I feel like I'm forgetting something._   
He realized he'd forgotten to call Bakura. Bakura would find him if he didn't call, he knew, so he picked up the phone. He felt sick inside, and found he couldn't dial the number. He took a deep breath. "Remember what Marik said," he murmured to himself. His fear was ungrounded. He was just nervous, because...   
...because he couldn't stop thinking about Bakura.   
...because he felt safe and content when he was around him.   
...because he was wildly attracted to Bakura.   
There was no way to get around it. Not anymore. Malik let out a defeated sigh.   
"Guess Marik's right. If I fight, I'll get hurt...I guess...I guess I'll just take this, and see where it goes."   
With shaking fingers, he dialed Bakura's number.   


Bakura had finally settled down on the couch, and was reading an issue of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac(1). Ryou was cooking dinner.   
The phone rang.   
In a flash Bakura darted across the living room, comic book flying out of his hands, and into the kitchen, grabbing the cordless phone and knocking down a stack of bills and various objects in the process.   
"Hello?" He asked, a little too eagerly.   
"Um...hey. Bakura?" Malik asked. He could hear Ryou laughing in the background.   
"Yeah...yeah...hey pretty." He said, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He could hear it pounding in his ears, and he was almost sure Malik heard it too. But he called! He was alive! And he'd CALLED! He felt his cheeks grow hot.   
"Hey," Malik said, still nervous. "So...um..." he couldn't think of anything to say. He had no real reason to call, he was calling because, well, Bakura had wanted him to call. "Why is Ryou laughing?" He asked, trying to find something to talk about.   
Bakura sighed. "Hikari-Squeeb is laughing at me, because I knocked a bunch of stuff over trying to get to the phone," he said sheepishly.   
"Oh." Malik giggled, to think of Bakura lunging for a phone. "So um...what did you do today?"   
"Not much. I slept, and...stuff."   
"What kind of stuff?" Malik was curious now.   
"He sat by the phone ALL DAY and waited for you to call," Ryou's voice butted in.   
"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK YOU LITTLE RAT!" Bakura yelled in the background. Malik burst out laughing, dream finally forgotten. "Oh my gosh!" He giggled.   
"_Yeeeaaaah,_" Ryou said. He waited by the phone ALL DAY, and you didn't call, and he thought you were dead!" Ryou giggled. "So I made him go do something else, and he sat in the den instead, by that phone, waiting for you to call."   
Malik heard Bakura in the background again.   
"Oh! I have to go! I have errands to run. Bye Malik!" Ryou said quickly.   
Malik's laughter echoed through the house. He heard a muffled struggle on the other line, and a yelp, and then Bakura's voice again.   
"Ryou is a liar! I swear!" Bakura said happily. "Anywho, I'm glad you called."   
"Yeah.." Malik said. "Me too."   
"So...what did you do today?" Bakura asked.   
"I cleaned, and then I organized my stuff, and then I checked my email." Malik said.   
"Oh. That sounds..."   
"Boring as hell."   
They both started laughing again, and Malik felt more comfortable, and not quite so nervous. They talked about random stuff, then settled into a more centered converstaion. Malik lounged on the couch, comfortable and happy. Bakura did the same.   


Marik wasn't on his way to the store.   
On the contrary, he was on his way to the park, the last place anybody would find him. He headed to the same spot he always did, a secluded, lush, soft grassy area, with a small pond and pretty ferns and flowers. It opened up the the moonlit, starry sky above. He crawled through the small opening, then covered his tracks. He sat against a soft tree trunk, waiting. He waited for a long time, and started to worry when the person he was waiting for didn't arrive. He closed his eyes, but opened them again when he heard a rustling in the bush. He opened the branches to help the person through. Once settled in, the branches were pushed closed again. Marik greeted his visitor with a tight embrace and a passionate kiss.   
"Hello Ryou-love," Marik said, his voice soft. "I missed you."   
"I missed you too." Ryou snuggled into Marik.   
"You...haven't been around lately."   
"It's hard being around you and not being able to show anything," Ryou said quietly. "I'm afraid I would accidently slip up."   
"I understand." Marik pulled Ryou closer. "I fear the same."   
"It...gets frustrating, having to stay so secret." Ryou felt a pang of shame at saying those words.   
"I know. I feel the same." Marik moved to sit up, and Ryou followed. Marik crawled around to face Ryou, cupped his pale face with a tanned, elegant hand. "Ryou...I know that this isn't easy, sneaking off like this, but please remember that I love you deeply, and someday we'll be able to love each other openly, with no fear. I promise." He leaned in and kissed Ryou softly.   
"I know. I love you too. I've never felt such a fierce devotion to anyone."   
They both smiled.   
"I know. Now, let's enjoy this beautiful night."   
They lay back down, Ryou snuggling into Marik, and they spent the night gazing up at the stars.   


"Wow. Do you realize we've been talking for almost three hours?" Malik asked.   
"Are you serious?" Bakura chuckled. "Time flies when you're having a blast."   
"Yeah, it does."   
Silence.   
"Malik, I want to see you again, soon. There's a coffee house in downtown Domino that's having at art exhibit tomorrow night. How about I pick you up at six?"   
"That sounds great!"   
"Good." Bakura smiled, and stretched out on the small couch, long legs hanging over the edge(2). "I'll pick you up then. So...it's getting pretty late, I should let you go."   
"Okay," Malik said. He didn't really want to hang up, Bakura's smooth voice was intoxicating, and he couldn't get enough of it.   
"So...good night, Pretty." Bakura said softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."   
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," said Malik. "Good night Bakura."   
They both hung up.   
Bakura couldn't stop smiling. He got to see Malik again! He jumped up, and started jumping around the living room.   
"I got another date with Maaaaalik! I got another date with Maaaaalik!" He cheered, to nobody in particular. Then he realized it was almost one in the morning, and Ryou still wasn't home. Bakura started to worry, Ryou hadn't taken his cell phone. He stayed up to wait for his hikari, but eventually fell asleep on the couch. 

Malik was also worried. It had been hours since Marik had left, and there was no sign of him either. He figured that Marik could take care of himself, though, and so he went up to bed, hoping he didn't have that dream again. Within minutes he was asleep. 

Ryou jerked awake, realized he'd been sleeping, and let out a gasp.   
"Marik! Oh my god, what time is it?" He rubbed his eyes. If Bakura found out he'd been sneaking around...   
"It's 2:45 AM, love."   
"Oh no! I'm in so much trouble! And I didn't take my cell phone, because I didn't want to get caught...oh no! I have to go, I love you Marik!" He placed a chaste kiss on Marik's lips, and crawled forward to exit their spot, but felt a hand on his shoulder.   
"No, It's late, Ryou. It's not safe for someone alone. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I love you more than that, and I care about your welfare more than what others may think. Please...let me walk you home."   
Ryou thought for a minute. "Okay."   
They crawled through the bushes, and out of the park. They walked to Ryou's house, hand in hand. Once they reached the door Marik pulled Ryou to a dark corner, out of sight, and gave Ryou a deep kiss, which Ryou happily returned.   
"Good night, my love," Marik said. "Sweet dreams."   
"Sweet dreams," Ryou replied. "'Night Marik. I love you!" Ryou blew him a kiss. Marik walked home, using the dark alleys and cover of night.   
Ryou stole around to the back of the house, completley silent. He crept up the small ladder he'd put in place, that was easily hidden by creeping ivy. Once he reached his bedroom window, he took a small piece of metal out of his pocket, and used it to pop the window latch. He opened the window and crawled inside. Bakura was none the wiser. He changed into pajamas and stole to Bakura's room and opened the door. When he didn't find him there he went downstairs, to the living room. Bakura was still fast alseep on the couch. Ryou gently shook him awake. "Bakura!" he hissed.   
"Mmmm...nnn...wha? Ryou?" Bakura looked up at his hikari. "When did you get home?"   
"Oh, at one-thirty," Ryou lied. I didn't see you in the living room, and I thought you had gone to bed, but then I woke up again, and had to get up, and looked in your room, and I didn't see you. I found you down here."   
"Oh...what time is it?"   
"3:15 AM."   
"I should get to bed. I have a date tomorrow with Malik."   
"OoooOOOoh! Where are you going?"   
"Art exhibit."   
"Sounds like fun," Ryou said. "Well, I'll let you get to bed. Goodnight!" He turned to go back up the stairs.   
"Hold on," Bakura said. "Where were you?"   
"Me? Oh, I was watching movies at Yugi's house. It ran later than we thought."   
"Oh, okay." Bakura knew Ryou was safe at Yugi's house, and didn't give it another thought. He changed, and went to bed, quickly falling asleep again.   


Oooargh...that really didn't go the way I wanted it too at all. But it just kind of formed itself. It did for a good base for future chapters though.   
(1) Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is _such_ a Bakura comic. I highly reccomend reading it, and other works of Jhonen Vasqez as well. They can be found online, or at your local Hot Topic. They seem to get copies of them on a regular basis, at least where I live.   
(2) Heehee...I just got a cute mental picture with this one.   
(3) I say _their_ dad because Bakura is part of Ryou, in a way. Ryou's dad really doesn't care in this plotline, and Bakura has major issues with his their dad. It may come out in later chapters and stories. 

So why is Ryou hiding his relationship with Marik? dun dun dun   
Next chapter will have the second date, as well as more fluffy goodness. 

So, hopefully this chapter didn't suck too much. Read and review. Ja ne!   
-OtakuChild   
  
  
  
  



	5. Chemistry

Sweet in Disguise   
Written by OtakuChild   
DISCLAIMER: Don't own, never did. 

Chapter five...heeheee...hoohooo...yarg. Senior project is done and over with. YAHOOOOOO!!! does cartwheels   
Now...to the present business...   


**CONTEST ALERT! CONTEST ALERT!**

There is a hidden reference in this chapter from a non-anime source. The first person to get it right wins a fluffy fic of their fav shonen-ai couple! And perhaps, if I can manage it, a pic to go along with it. Answer in the review! 

**END CONTEST ALERT!**   
Kira-Kura: Ah, yes, the sneaking around of Ryou and Marik...their reasons for keeping their relationship a secret will be revealed as the story goes on. It will eventually involve Bakura and Malik as well, but not in a good way. That's all I can say without giving away the plot. 

Anywho...it's second date time for our star couplet! Yay! 

Chapter Five: Chemistry 

_Click. Click. Click._   
Marik walked into the bathroom. The clicking noise was driving him a little batty.   
"Malik! What the hell are you..." he trailed off and his eyes widened at what his hikari was doing. He had never, ever seen his hikari doing such a thing before in his life.   
Malik was staring into the bathroom mirror, completely absorbed in plucking his eyebrows.   
"Good god!" Marik said. "Doesn't that hurt?"   
"Not really." Malik continued yanking out hair after hair. "You get used to it after awhile. It just feels like a pinprick."   
Marik cringed. "Your eyebrows are fine, why are you tweezing?" he paused, then grinned. "Unless..."   
"I have a date. With Bakura. At the art gallery. I have to look nice."   
"So you _are_ attracted to him."   
"I didn't say that! It's the art gallery, I want to look nice. It's more formal than where we went on the first date. It has nothing to do with _him._" Malik set down the tweezers and set about lining his eyes.   
"Oh, riiiiiiight," Marik drawled. "I'm so sure. You spend too much time preparing for this for it not to be serious."   
"Oh, yes, Ra forbid I actually look nice."   
"Hikari, you look nice all the time. You don't even have to try, and you know it. But you _are_ trying, and that's what gives you away. I saw how you blushed when Bakura said you were beautiful. His jaw would have dropped to the floor if it wasn't fixed to his face."   
Malik let out an exasperated sigh, and reached for the eyeshadow. "Can't I get ready in peace?"   
"Fine, fine. But we both know I'm right." Marik walked into the living room, and grabbed a pen and notebook. He started writing a letter to Ryou.   
Malik finished with his makeup, and looked at himself in the mirror.   
"Yum," he said to his reflection. "If I weren't me I'd be all over you." He waggled his tongue at his reflection and walked into his room. Tonight's outfit consisted of a sleeveless, tight-fitting crimson shirt, with a black netted hoodie worn over it(1). He wore a pair of black leather pants to match, and black combat boots. His usual gold jewelry had been exchanged for a black chain-link choker with a small padlock charm. On his left arm he wore a silver bike chain bracelet, a spiked bracelet, a narrow studded bracelet, and several red and black jelly bracelets. His right arm sported a wider studded bracelet, a ball chain bracelet, several silver bangles, and a spiked and studded cuff. Silver hoop earrings adorned his ears, and he wore several assorted silver rings(2). His eyes were darkly lined, with silver shadow to match. He sauntered down the stairs to wait for Bakura, and noticed Marik writing.   
"What'cha writing?" he asked.   
"Grocery list," Marik lied.   
"Okay." Malik headed for the freezer. "In that case, we need otter pops, and caramel ice cream, and more coke," he added. "Oh, and pasta and artichokes."   
"Um, okay!" Marik hastily scribbled them down at the bottom of the paper to further cover his tracks, then hid the notebook.   
Malik left the fridge and took to pacing the length of the living room. Marik started whistling the wedding march.   
"OH SHUT UP!" Malik shrieked, and lunged at his darker half, who sidestepped, sending him into the couch. He rolled off the couch and started chasing Marik. Amidst the chaos the doorbell rang. Malik ran to get it, but was shoved out of the way by Marik.   
"HEY! I'm going on the date! Lemme go!" Malik shoved against Marik.   
"I want to get the door because I'm older and your guardian!" Marik pushed back.   
"NO! I want to get the door!"   
"No, I'm getting the door!"   
"You need better locks for your windows, oh, and the electronic security system doesn't do a thing to protect your house unless it's on."   
The two blondes turned their heads at the voice.   
Bakura was standing in the dining room, by an open window, which had previously been shut.   
"I'll keep that in mind..." Marik said. He shot a sideways glance at Malik, and smirked. Malik was silent, mouth open, looking for words that refused to come out of his mouth.   
Bakura smiled, and walked over to Malik. "Hey pretty," he crooned. He swept Malik up in a hug.   
Malik returned it happily. "....hey..." was all he could manage. 

/Right.../ Marik said sarcastically. /It's so convincing how you're _not_ attracted to him./   
SHUT UP! I...um...we'll talk later.

Bakura gave Malik a feathery kiss on the forehead and took his hand. "We're going to the art gallery," he told Marik. "A friend of mine is exhibiting some of her paintings tonight. I'm not really sure what time we'll be back, but he'll be safe, don't worry." 

"He better be," Marik said. "Have fun."   
With that, Bakura whisked Malik out the front door, and to the sidewalk. He took Malik's hand and lead him to a black Volvo, loaded with various obnoxious bumper stickers and band stickers, and a Union Jack sticker on the left corner of the bumper.   
"You have a car?" Malik asked.   
"I do. The gallery is across town, it's too far to walk, silly." Bakura unlocked the passenger door, and opened it. "Your chariot awaits."   
Malik started to giggle, and went to get in, but Bakura stopped him, not letting go of his hand. He pulled Malik close, and planted small, gentle kisses on Malik's hand. Malik stopped giggling. Bakura looked deep into Malik's eyes, and pulled him even closer. He gently ran a hand through is soft blonde hair, and brushed some stray strands out of his face. He trailed the hand down Malik's tanned cheek, and down his neck. Malik closed his eyes. It felt wonderful, he couldn't deny that. Bakura secured Malik around the waist with one arm, and moved the other down his back. Malik tried to stay calm.   
_He won't try anything...Marik will kill him...he won't try anything..._   
The hand whipped around and tickled Malik in the stomach.   
"AAAAAAHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEESTOPIT!" Malik burst into peals of giggles. He fell back and twisted forward to get away, but Bakura hooked the arm around his waist again, and tickled him harder, grinning devilishly.   
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!" Malik's giggles turned into laughter. He lost his balance, but Bakura would not let him fall. He helped Malik back up, and hugged him close again.   
"What was that for?" Malik asked, mock-offended.   
"I missed your giggles." He gave Malik a chaste kiss on the lips and helped him into the car, then got in himself. He started the car, and let it idle for a few minutes. An uncomfortable silence passed over the car.   
"Just warming it up a bit..." Bakura trailed off.   
"Yeah..."   
More silence. Bakura gave an awkward smile, which Malik returned, just as awkwardly. Bakura sat, wondering just what to do, when an idea struck him.   
_Catch him off guard, but in a good way!_   
"Well, the car seems to be warm no, so off we go!" Bakura threw the car in gear and took off into the street, peeling out along the way.   
"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND???" Malik shrieked(3). "Marik will KILL you! And this is a residential area! You're going, like, sixty in a fifteen zone! BAKURA!!!!"   
Bakura just kept going, smirking all the while.   
"YOU'LL GET A TICKET! I don't want to be in the car if you get pulled over! I've never even talked to a cop! BAKURA, SLOW DOWN! We're going to CRASH! YAAAAA!!!"   
Bakura flew around a street corner, and Malik grabbed onto the nearest available object so he could hang on, which happened to be Bakura's right arm, conveniently. Bakura hooked it around Malik's waist.   
"Hang on babe! We'll be there in no time flat!" Bakura hooked around an on-ramp and onto the freeway. Malik suddenly realized what he was clinging to, and pulled away, blushing. "Um...heehee..."   
"Hey...it's okay, I won't get us killed." Bakura took Malik's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.   
"Do you drive like this all the time?" Malik asked. Bakura's hand was soft, and warm, and from the looks of it, not letting go anytime soon, so he squeezed back appreciatively.   
"Sorta. I just wanted to see if you were going to do what I think you were going to do, which you just did."   
"Huh?"   
"Nothing. Anywho, my friend Devi was invited to display quite a few of her works at the gallery, she and her boyfriend Johnny will be there. After that I want to go someplace quiet, like the coffee shop or something, where we can just sit, and talk." The car approached the off-ramp, and they pulled into a city street. The lights were bright, and the street was filled with people of all kinds. Malik noticed that they started looking more eclectic and flamboyant as they neared the gallery. He noticed new shops and businesses he hadn't caught in awhile.   
"Wow..." he murmured. "It's changed."   
"They've remodeled a lot of the older, dilapidated buildings, and restored them, as well as adding a few things...when was the last time you were here, anyway?"   
"Hella fucking months ago, I don't come down here much anymore."   
"Well, we'll have to change that, ne? We should hit the town one of these nights. Look, there's the gallery."   
Malik smiled. They pulled into the parking lot of the gallery. Much to Malik's relief, the gallery still looked the same, with its dark, brick-covered walls, and lights hanging in the windows and on the roof. Bakura shut off the car, and came round to Malik's side, and opened his door for him, taking his hand and leading him out. They linked arms and walked into the gallery. As they passed through the doorway Bakura slid his arm down, and took Malik's hand, interlacing their fingers. They made their way past the coffee shop and down a dark hallway, lit by small, overhead bulbs. Bakura lead the way, and Malik followed, figuring that Bakura knew his way around. They eventually came to a larger gallery, filled with abstract, dark paintings.   
"Here we are," Bakura said.   
They walked towards the first paining. Malik looked around at all the different, eclectic people who were looking at the paintings. Malik saw everything from Abercrombie to Lipservice(4) to Armani. He was amazed. He pulled a bit closer to Bakura and looked at the paining in front of him. He gasped.   
It was beautiful. It was an abstract piece, yet it was very dark, and sad, with a whirlwind of crimson, black, blues, and purples. Malik stared at it, mesmerized.   
"Isn't it wonderful?" Bakura said.   
"Yeah...wow." Malik continued to study the painting.   
"I knew you'd like these," Bakura said.   
The walked around, studying each paining, sometimes talking, sometimes not, sometimes splitting up, but always finding each other. They eventually made their way back to the front of the gallery.   
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Bakura asked.   
"Yeah! I love this! I'm surprised I haven't come by here sooner," Malik said. 

"Hey! Bakura! I couldn't find you, ya crazy bastard!"   
Both boys whirled around at the voice.   
They were joined by a girl slightly taller than Malik, but shorter than Bakura. She wore a black spaghetti-strap top, a black skirt, and fishnets, with combat boots. She wore cross earrings and a silver chain. Her hair was short, stick-straight, and dyed turquoise.   
"Devi! Gods, I haven't seen you in ages, where have you been?" Bakura asked, hugging his friend.   
"Working on my own paintings, I quit the job at Nerve Publishing," she explained. They made their way to the back of the room.   
"Devi, this is Malik, my date," Bakura introduced.   
"So _you're_ Malik!" Devi said, shaking Malik's hand. "I've looked forward to meeting you."   
"You...have?" Malik was a little confused.   
"Of course! I've heard all about you from Bakura. He talks about you nonstop." She shot Bakura a semi-malicious grin, which he returned with a mock-glare.   
"_Reeeeaaaallly?_" Malik asked, waggling his eyebrows at Bakura, who blushed.   
"So, where is he?" Bakura asked, changing the subject.   
"Oh, Johnny? He's around here somewhere, with Todd(5). Todd wanted to see some of the other artwork."   
"Ah," said Malik.   
The three of them got to chatting, until a staff member of the gallery came to Devi and informed her someone wanted to buy a painting, so they said farewells and moved off. Bakura took Malik's hand again. "Let's go get some coffee."   
"I'd like that."   
They made their way back to the car, and Bakura opened the door for Malik, who was blushing wildly. They drove to a quiet coffee house on the main street, and got their coffee. Bakura found a small, quiet table in the back. They settled in.   
"There's a small cafe connected to the gallery, why didn't we just go there?" Malik cradled his coffee mug.   
"It was too noisy, and there are no places that are really all that private," Bakura replied. He took a small sip of his coffee. "I didn't want the entire art crowd of Domino City to hear our conversation."   
"Yeah, I understand." It was Malik's turn to sip his coffee. "So...Devi said you talk about me?" He gave Bakura a goofy smirk.   
"Well...sometimes...I kinda get carried away. I just....um..." Bakura stared down at his hands.   
"You what?" Malik arched an eyebrow.   
Bakura let out a sigh.   
"I'm not going to lie. I like you a lot. I've had a lot of fun, hanging out with you, even though it's only been two dates. And the more I'm with you, the more I really like you."   
"I...I like you too," Malik said. "You've been a perfect gentleman, and very sweet to me." He smiled. "I...wasn't really sure about you, and I'm still feeling reserved, and to tell you the truth, I'm confused." He let out a sigh. "I feel like, things are moving so fast, it's only been a couple of days, it's scaring me, because I feel so unsure. Bakura, I like you, but I think we need to take it easy. I need some time to sort things out. I mean, a few days ago, I hated you, because you hit on me, it made me so angry, and then you sobered up, and you've been wonderful. My head is spinning. I want to get to know you better, before we keep moving, you know?"   
Malik took a deep breath. He was somewhat scared of what Bakura might say, or do. As much as he was attracted to Bakura, he was still somewhat suspicious.   
"You have nothing to be afraid of, I promise," Bakura said. "If you want to take it slow, then that's exactly what we'll do."   
Malik felt a wave of relief sweep over him.   
"You want to know more about me? That's why we're here, so ask away, it's okay." Bakura leaned back and grinned.   
"Okay...let's start with the usual crap," Malik said. "Where do you work?"   
"At Kaiba Corp. I get paid to test video games all day. It pays nicely, I don't have to worry about expenses all that much."   
"Hey! Marik does that too!" Malik stirred his coffee.   
"Yes, he does. We're coworkers. I'm surprised he hasn't told you."   
"Don't be, he probably figures I'd fly off the handle...it's a small issue I have." Marik stared into the ceramic mug.   
"We all have our issues. Think about it. Marik only goes shopping at night, to avoid all the suburbanite moms and their odd hair-"   
"He told you that?" Malik blurted out. "He would never tell me why!"   
"He thinks you'd make fun of him." Bakura took another sip of coffee.   
"I wouldn't make fun of him...heehee, what a nerd. Shopping at night." Malik started sniggering.   
"Not nearly as bad as say...plucking your eyebrows." Bakura took another casual sip.   
"HEY! Some of us are _above_ walking around with a unibrow, or a scattered brow line." Malik glared.   
"Yeah, yeah, now you're trying to justify it. Sad..." Bakura let out a sigh.   
Malik squinted, sizing up Bakura. "Okay, Bakura...then explain to me how you keep your eyebrows shaped? That's not a natural curve."   
"I...uh...I get them professionally done. I tried to tweeze them once, and botched it, and Ryou had to fix it, and I wound up with almost no eyebrows." Bakura stared at his lap. Malik started giggling.   
"Oh man...hey, um...is Marik seeing anyone? Do you know?"   
"Nooo...wouldn't he tell you that?" Bakura raised an eyebrow.   
"Well I asked him, and he said that there is someone, but refuses to tell me. I think he's hiding something."   
"He probably just made it up," Bakura crooned. "I mean, I dunno. The thought of him with one of the woman-species is just wrong. But then the thought of him bringing boys home doesn't really do much either. Who knows? Maybe he's asexual."   
"He is _not!_" Malik screeched. "I mean...I don't think he...oh boy. I don't want to think about this anymore."   
"Me neither."   
His thoughts shifted from Marik to thoughts of where their third date might be. Then he remembered Joey and Tristan telling him things about the third date. Not-so-nice things. His insides squirmed.   
"Is it bothering you that much?" Bakura asked, noting the discomfort on Malik's face.   
"No!" Malik replied, a little too quickly. "I'm fine! Really!"   
"No, you're not," Bakura said softly. "What's wrong? Tell me."   
Malik suddenly felt awkward and embarrassed, two things he wasn't used to. He didn't like the feeling of losing control on situations. He knew Bakura wouldn't stop until he opened up, and he put his head down on the table, buried in the crook of his elbow.   
"I...um...well...Joey and Tristan said that on the third date...you have to...um...you have to put out on the third date...like, you have to sleep with them, or screw them, or-"   
"I know, I get the point," Bakura said, in a non-condescending tone; he'd cut in to save Malik from more embarrassment.   
"It's said a lot, and I guess there are a fair few that feel that way, I don't," he said. "I've never felt that way, personally, I think the notion is dumb. I feel that you should only take it that far once you are ready to, and if you love the person deeply enough. It should never feel uncomfortable, or awkward." He leaned towards Malik again, and stroked the top of his head gently. "I would never do that, put you in that position, or expect that of you. It's too early to think along those lines. I don't want us to be like that."   
He realized that even though Malik tended towards midriffs and tight pants, and cracked some pretty dirty jokes, he was quite uncomfortable discussing sexual matters, when it came down to the wire. He suppressed a wave of anger; Joey and Tristan, in his opinion, were stupid, immature gits who may have been trying to talk Malik into something, for all he knew. He knew that Malik wasn't so naive that he would let himself be talked into anything, but it had still gotten to Malik, and it dawned on Bakura that while Malik was definitely a nice, caring, good person, he did distance himself from others, often putting up an air of arrogance, and that perhaps Malik was more insecure about himself than he would ever let on. Bakura felt even more protective of Malik.   
Malik lifted his head. "It's stupid," he spat. "I know better. I really do. And I would never let anybody talk me into that," he said, confirming Bakura's inner thoughts. "It shouldn't bug me..." he put his head back down.   
"I'd worry if it didn't bug you," Bakura said. "But still, Tristan and Joey have a way of getting to people." He recalled one morning when, in the usual morning inspection of his car, he had found a potato stuck into the exhaust pipe. He went to find the culprit, and found the two of them sniggering in the backyard. The two were later discovered by Yugi, hanging from a large tree branch by their boxers. He carpooled with Marik for the next few days until a mechanic could check the gas tank, to make sure that no sugar had been poured into it.   
"Don't worry about it," Bakura said. "I bet the only reason they told you that was because they weren't getting any or something, and that was their way of venting it off."   
Malik burst into muffled giggles.   
Ryou was sifting through a stack of mail on the counter, when he found an unaddressed envelope, simply titled "Ryou," with Marik's untidy scrawl. He smiled, and unfolded the letter that lay inside. He sat down on the couch, and began to read. 

_My dearest Ryou,_

_ I miss you more that words can say right now. I hate that we have to sneak like this, and have to stay so quiet, because you're so close to me, but we're worlds apart when everybody else is around, and we can't even act like we have anything at all._   
_ I long for the day when we can love each other openly, and we won't have to steal away on quiet nights just to see each other in peace._   
_ I wish that I had been honest about things from day one, because maybe we wouldn't be in the mess that we are in now. It has gotten so convoluted, and complicated, that I feel it is taking its toll._   
_ Ryou, I feel that I cannot take this anymore, and I wonder if you can as well. I feel that the time has come to come clean about us to Bakura, and Malik. I know you probably won't like the idea, for fear that Bakura will go ballistic. Even though we are coworkers, I know that he couldn't stand the thought of me taking your innocence. But I know, deep inside, that you never will lose that childlike innocence and whimsy you possess, it makes me love you that much more._   
_ I know you fear what Bakura may say, and do, but also remember that no matter what happens, I will protect you, and keep you safe, because you are everything to me, my beloved. I will forever be with you, even into the afterlife._

_ Love,_   
_ Mariku_

Ryou's eyes blurred with tears, and he hurriedly wiped them away, in case Bakura came through the door at that moment. Then he noticed some smaller writing on the corner of the page.   
"Otter pops?" He read aloud. paper?"   
He started giggling hysterically.   
Hidden in the far corner of the backyard, Marik watched his beloved, smiling when he saw Ryou giggle.   


Malik looked out the window of the car, watching the streetlights go by. Bakura drove one-handed, his right hand holding Malik's, running his thumb across it every so often. Malik didn't want the drive to end. The evening had been wonderful. He had gotten to see some awesome artwork, and have coffee. He and Bakura talked about countless things. Malik hadn't realized before how eloquent Bakura's choice of words were, and how he always had an educated response and opinion. They had fascinating, wonderful conversations at the coffee house, and when they finally made their way out to the car, Bakura swung Malik around and gave him a kiss. It was all he could do to keep from melting into a puddle of goo. Now they were just sitting in the car, in comfortable silence while Bakura drove him home. All too soon they were in front of Malik's front door. Bakura pulled to a stop in the driveway.   
"So...we're here," he said, quietly.   
"Yeah," Malik said, looking out the passenger side window. He suddenly felt nervous again. It was Bakura who got out first, and opened Malik's door, to help him out. Malik smiled, feeling a warm fluttery feeling in his stomach. Bakura took his hand and pulled him into a tight hug, grinning. The two just held each other for a few minutes. To Malik it felt much longer. But they finally broke the hug, and Bakura walked him to the door.   
"Well, I don't know about you," Bakura said, "But I certainly had fun." He held Malik's hand in his own.   
"I had fun too. I...I want to keep seeing you." Malik was unsure where _that_ came from, but he realized, yes, it was true. He didn't want to stop seeing Bakura.   
"Good." Bakura ran a hand down Malik's cheekbone. "Because I am going to kiss you like you've never been kissed before."   
And with that said, he dove forward, and in one swift motion, yanked up Malik's shirt and planted small kisses on his stomach.   
Malik let out a howl, and jumped away from Bakura.   
"BAKURA!"   
The former thief was busy laughing. Malik straightened his shirt again, and set about unlocking the door, for Marik had not come home yet.   
"Okay, Bakura," Malik said. "First off, I _have_ been kissed like that, by Yami, when he was _really_ drunk, and second," he found the proper key and went to unlock the door. "You don't tell someone you're gonna kiss them, you sneak up and -"   
Bakura had been tiptoeing up to Malik while he was talking, and he grabbed his shoulder and spun him so he could face the Egyptian. Without a word he swept Malik up in a deep, passionate kiss. Malik froze in shock, but then he kissed back, just as passionately. Bakura broke the kiss, and ran his tongue across Malik's lips, in a silent asking of permission. Malik granted it by kissing him again, and taking lead. They explored each other's mouths until they ran out of air, and Malik pulled away to catch his breath.   
"I'm...sorry..." Bakura said.   
"Don't apologize," said Malik. "Just promise you'll call me."   
"Of course I will," said Bakura, pulling Malik close again. "Goodnight, Pretty."   
"Goodnight, Bakura. Sweet dreams."   
"Of course, they'll be there, wonderful sweet dreams of you."   
Malik started to giggle. Bakura placed another quick kiss on Malik's lips before letting Malik go to unlock the door. Malik let himself in and shut the door, slowly sinking to the floor. He put a finger to his lips, still absorbing the fact that they'd shared such a fevered kiss.   
"Oh man..." Malik said quietly. "I..._wow. _He...kissed...me...I..."   
"Yeah, I know, I'm this fantastic kisser," Bakura's muffled voice came from outside the door.   
Malik gasped, startled, and then ran to the living room and stuck his head out the window, giggling. "Go home, you wonderful handsome gentleman!" He said.   
"Awww...okaaaaaay." Bakura made his way to the car, and started the engine, winking at Malik before he drove off.   
"What was that all about?"   
Malik turned to see Marik standing about three feet from him.   
"YAAAACK! How do you do that?"   
"Millennium power. Anywho, how was the date? Did you kiss him? Huh? Huh?"   
"I don't kiss and tell," Malik said. "But...it was wonderful, so goodnight." He made his way upstairs to his room. Marik lazily strutted to the foot of the stairs.   
"You're falling for him and you know it!" He yelled up to Malik.   
He was greeted by a flying combat boot. Wheeeeee! It is DONE!   
Yes, I borrowed the kissing scene from Will & Grace. Footnotes!   
(1) I have a shirt exactly like this. I love it! It just screams "MALIK SHIRT!" so I stuck it in the fic.   
(2) Yes, Malik looks yummy in his gold jewelry, but I think he looks just as good in silver.   
(3) He shrieks alot, doesn't he?   
(4) Lipservice is a punk brand of clothing found in Hot Topic and Torrid. I have a couple of shirts by them, and haven't seen the label anywhere else.   
(5) Todd, also known as Squee. I placed him under Johnny's watch, because I hate his parents. I put Johnny and Devi as an item because I think they'd be perfect for each other, despite Johnny's homicidal tendencies.   


Okay, I've practically given away the contest...so...first one to guess wins it! 

So, read and review, pretty please, and I'm sorry it's taking so long!!!   
-OtakuChild   
  
  



	6. Sickened

Sweet In Disguise

Written By OtakuChild

Disclaimer: Yugioh is not mine, and neither are the name brands of candy and anime mentioned in this chapter. It should be painfully obvious that I don't own Coca-cola.

Yowza.

I do realize that it's been almost three years since I've written anything having to do with fanfiction. Life and work and school just sort of got in the way, and before I knew it, one very loyal and very awesome fan emailed me about my writing, wondering where it had gone. It gave me the jump start I needed to dig up what I had and start writing again. I had always intended to finish the stories I started. I still do. So hopefully, if I keep my fingers crossed, I'll be able to keep writing, with no distractions. I'm sorry that it's taken so long.

Chapter Six: Sickened

Malik woke up, and immediately felt a sense of grogginess and vertigo. He fell back on the bed.

"I feel horrible..." he muttered.

"What? Are you regretting the kiss?" Marik said nosily.

"I said NOTHING to you about that!" Malik screeched. "And how do you know? What's it to ya, huh?" He leapt out of bed, and started jumping around in a fighting stance. "Put up your dukes! Come on! Let's go!"

Marik simply stood there, watching his hikari with a raised eyebrow. Malik continued to hop around, but was hit by another wave of dizziness. He lost his balance and started to fall.

"Malik!"

Marik ran towards him, catching him. Malik opened his mouth to say something, but started to gag. They made it to the bathroom just in time for Malik to start throwing up into the toilet. Marik waited patiently for Malik to finish, then flushed the toilet.

"I don't feel well..." Malik moaned, trying to stand. He did, with much labor, and wobbled towards the stairs in a haze.

"Oh no, it's back to bed with you," Marik said, and picked up Malik, carrying him back to his room and tucking him in. Malik was too fatigued to argue.

"I'm going to the store to get you some medicine and some soup. I'll be back soon." He fluffed Malik's hair and went to the living room. Malik heard a jingle of car keys, and then a door open and shut. He closed his eyes, to try and sleep, but the gagging started up again. He crawled to the bathroom, dragging his comforter with him, and stayed there, retching every so often.

"Ryou!"

Bakura knocked feverishly on the door. "Let me in! I need to get my wallet!"

"NO! Go to the ATM for money!"

"But my debit card is in my wallet!" Bakura shook the doorknob.

"Then go inside! That's what people did in the seventies, you know. Let me be!"

Bakura kicked the door. "What is the matter with you? I STILL need my card! They make you swipe it!"

Ryou had been reading a rather dirty email from Marik, and had made sure to lock the door. He hastily saved it, and closed the windows of the computer. "Fine! Come get your damn wallet!" he snapped, unlocking the door to the den.

"Bakura looked at the empty computer desktop. "Geez, locking the door just to use the computer. One would think you're looking at porn or something."

Ryou flushed at how close Bakura had guessed his actions. "No..." he lied. "I just like my privacy. That's all."

Bakura paused for a minute. "Whatever..." he dismissed. "Anywho, I need to run a few errands before I go to Malik's house, so I need my card. And my license." He picked up his wallet and went whistling out the door, shaking his keys. "See ya later, Shortysqueak."

Ryou gave Bakura the finger, and retreated back into the den. He reopened the browser window, and continued reading his letter.

Bakura walked to the front door of the Ishtar residence, whistling nonchalantly, a small bouquet of Calalillies in his hand. He rang the doorbell, but to his surprise, nobody answered. He glanced towards the driveway, and saw Malik's motorcycle, and his car, so he knew Malik was home. He knocked again.

"Malik?" He called.

No answer.

Bakura felt sick pang of worry build in his stomach. He picked the window lock and slipped in through the living room.

"Malik?"

He heard a noise which he couldn't identify.

"Malik?" he called again.

He heard retching coming from the upstairs bathroom. His eyes widened, and he placed the flowers on the table before dashing upstairs, to find Malik lying on the bathroom floor, with the fluffy white comforter, eyes closed, face flushed and sweaty, hair sticking to his forehead. He could tell Malik had been throwing up.

"Malik! Oh my god!" Bakura rushed to Malik's side, and held him up. "You...what happened? Have you been drinking? Are you sick?"

"Mrfgh..." Malik had given up on making any coherent speech.

"Where's Marik?"

"Sssstoooooorrre..." Malik's eyes were fluttering, threatening to roll back into his head.

Bakura felt his forehead. "You've got one hell of a fever. Come on, you need to get into bed." He picked Malik up and took him back into bed, tucking him in. Malik just lay there, not responding.

Bakura tore through the kitchen looking for anything that might help Malik. He found Ibuprofen, and ginger tea. He sighed sadly, and set about brewing the tea. He took the ibuprofen to Malik. He found Malik buried under the covers, trying to sleep.

"Here," he said, handing a glass of water to Malik. "Think you can keep this down?"

Malik mumbled an incoherent reply.

Bakura helped him take the medication, and gave him a pot to throw up in, and finished fixing the tea. He brought the tea to Malik, and found him sleeping soundly. He decided not to wake him, and went back downstairs, looking for food that Malik could possibly keep down, and worrying. To his pleasant surprise, he found a variety of fresh vegetables and some chicken, and decided to make him chicken soup. He was chopping carrots when the phone rang. He rushed to pick it up, fearing the ring might wake up Malik.

"Hello?"

"Bakura? Oh, thank the gods!" It was Marik on the other end of the line. "How's Malik?"

"Bad," Bakura replied. "I found him in the bathroom, throwing up like there was no tomorrow. He was burning up and couldn't form speech. He's in bed now, sleeping, and I gave him some tea and Ibuprofen."

"I'm so glad you stopped by," Marik said. "I...he just started retching, and so I went to the store to get him some medicine and soup. But now I won't be able to, because I got called into work."

"You're kidding!" Bakura said. "Why would you get called in? On a Sunday?"

"Apparently there was some problem with the programming of one of the games we tested last week, so now I've been called in to fix it. One of the younger programmers snuck in an invincibility code or something like that. Kaiba's not amused. Anyways, I'm so worried about Malik, I'm glad you're there to take care of him."

"I'm glad I decided to come over and see him," Bakura said. "I wonder what could have happened to get him so sick."

"I don't know," Marik said. "But I'll need you to stay the night, I won't be home until that code's been fixed. Kaiba's livid and he's threatening to fire people."

"Okay," Bakura said. "Keep me posted."

"I sure will."

They said good-byes and hung up. Bakura finished the soup, and was stirring it when he heard loud coughs coming from Malik's bedroom. He turned off the stove and headed up to see Malik. Once again, he found him buried in covers, as if trying to hide from the rest of the world.

"Malik?" Bakura said quietly.

"Mmmph!" Malik burrowed deeper into the covers. He did not want Bakura to see him like this.

"Come out, please!"

"No! I look awful, I just know it!" More burrowing.

"You know, even Cindy Crawford doesn't look like Cindy Crawford when she wakes up in the morning."

"Cindy Crawford isn't sick!"

Bakura let out a sigh. "Come on, how bad could it be?" He took Malik's newfound energy to argue as a sign that he was feeling slightly better.

Malik poked his head up, and Bakura felt a pang. His hair, normally shiny and sleek, was disheveled and frizzy, from thrashing in his sleep. Dark circles had formed under tired, drooping lavender eyes, and his nose, which Bakura secretly thought was very cute under normal circumstances, was red and puffy, and, Bakura realized, probably very sore. Malik let out a miserable sniffle. He felt stuffy, and hot, and his nose was sore from wiping it so much. He still felt dizzy, and his muscles ached. The fact that the boy he was quickly becoming attracted to was seeing him like this made him feel even worse. A fit of coughs tore from his throat.

Bakura quickly put down the soup and rushed over to Malik, rubbing his back in small circles in an effort to soothe the coughing. Eventually the coughing subsided, and Malik snuggled back under the covers.

"Here," Bakura said, bringing the soup over to Malik. "I brought you some soup."

"Marik's home now?" Malik asked.

"No, no, he called, and said he got called into work, so he won't be home until late, he said."

"Oh." Malik sat up a bit. "Then how did you find soup? We don't have any soup."

"I made it from scratch," Bakura said. "That canned supermarket crap does nothing for sickiness anyway."

Malik took the soup, and took a small bite. His eyes lit up.

"Hey! This is yummy!" he said happily.

"Don't scarf it down," Bakura said. "You'll throw up again."

"But it's yummy!" Malik said.

"It won't be so yummy when it makes a U-turn up the esophagus highway," Bakura said.

Malik burst into snuffled giggles, and quietly ate his soup. When he was done, he set the bowl aside, and leaned into Bakura, who was sitting on the bed next to him.

"You're so awesome," Malik said quietly.

"It's nothing," Bakura said, pulling Malik closer to him. "I'm glad I came over when I did."

Malik let out another stuffy sniff. "I hate that you're seeing me like this though."

"Malik, people get sick. Sick happens, with all the germs floating in the air. You should see Ryou when he gets sick. He rarely does, but when he does, it's nasty."

"Yeah, he sounds like a bullfrog over the phone." He burst into giggles. "It's creepy."

"Imagine hearing that in person," Bakura said.

The giggles turned into a full laughing fit, which evolved into a coughing fit.

"Oooh, take it easy," Bakura said, gently rubbing Malik's back to help ease the coughs, which eventually died down. "I'll be right back."

"'Kay," Malik replied. He lay back down and snuggled under the warm, fluffy covers of his bed. Bakura came back a few minutes later with a spoon, and a small bottle.

"Okay," Bakura said. "The directions on this bottle of cough syrup say-"

"NO!" Malik dove under the covers completely, hiding his head. "No cough syrup!"

"Malik-"

"NO!"

"But you're coughing!"

"But it's icky!"

"Do you really want to keep coughing?"

Malik poked his head out. "No."

"Then you have to take it!"

"NO!" He dove back under again. "Nononononononononono!"

Bakura crept up to the bed, and leaned in close. "How about..." he crooned.

"There's nothing you can say or do or bribe me with to make me take it," Malik proclaimed stubbornly.

"...I'll cook you a romantic candlelight dinner and scatter rose petals on the table if you take this cough medicine."

Malik flew up out of the bed covers. "Gimme!" He squeaked.

Bakura passed the bottle of medicine and spoon to Malik with a grin. Malik took the medicine without complaint.

Bakura continued to take care of Malik the rest of the day, and well into the night. It was well past midnight when Marik finally made it home. He went upstairs to check on Malik, and found both boys zonked out, Bakura kneeling next to the bed with his head resting on a pillow, and Malik cuddled into the covers, the fingers of his right hand woven through Bakura's hair. Marik grinned and silently left the room, not wanting to disturb them, and went to bed.

Bakura stayed the rest of the week, leaving only to go to work and run essential errands, always returning straight to Malik's side afterwards. When Malik was healthy again they made plans for their third date, and Bakura went back home, giving Malik a shy kiss before going to his car.

A week later, Bakura was nervously pacing around in circles in his kitchen when he heard a knock on the door.

"It's open!" he called out, flying to the sink and busying himself with arranging the plants on the windowsill.

Bakura heard the door open and close, and the sounds of a grocery bag getting set down. Malik skipped into the kitchen and glomped Bakura.

"Hiyeeeee!!!" he said happily, giggling madly.

"Hello Pretty," he said. He turned around to hug Malik, and exchange a few kisses. "Where's Ryou?"

"Out with Yugi and company, he's sleeping over." Bakura gave Malik an Eskimo kiss.

"Something wrong?" asked Malik.

"No," replied Bakura. "Why?"

"You were rearranging dead plants on your windowsill."

Bakura turned back around to see that the plants he was fidgeting with were indeed dead, and from the looks of it, had been for at least a month.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "They are dead. Quite dead. Not alive anymore. Well..it's Ryou's fault, it's his job to water them."

"That's funny, he says it's your job." Malik absentmindedly twirled his earring. "Anyway, I brought the popcorn, it's the extra-buttery kind. I didn't know what kind of candy you liked, so I got Rolos, Brite Crawlers, Strawberry Puffs, Buncha Crunches, and a bunch of assorted minis. It's all on the table."

"That's fine," Bakura said, leading Malik to the living room. "I got Coke, and...let's see...I've got Angel Sanctuary, Evangelion, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, FLCL-"

"Evangelion! Yes! Let's watch that!" Malik's eyes lit up.

"Okay." They popped the popcorn, and Bakura shut off the lights and put in the first DVD. They sat in silence, eating candy and popcorn and drinking coke.

"Is it safe?"

"Yeah, Malik will be over there for quite awhile. Who knows, he may even spend the night."

Ryou walked into the Ishtar residence, and was greeted with a passionate kiss from Marik.

"Do you really think he'll put out?" Ryou asked.

"No, not that, but they're watching movies, they may stay up late, and he may sleep over...I've missed you, Beautiful." He ran a hand down Ryou's pale cheek.

"I've missed you too." Ryou kissed Marik again, pulling him close.

"You ready?" Marik smirked.

"Nervous," Ryou replied. "We've never done it at your place before."

"Don't be nervous, the door's locked, the phone's disconnected. Nothing but you, and me, and candlelight."

"Then yes, I'm ready," Ryou whispered.

Marik picked up Ryou and carried him to his bedroom.

By now Malik was absorbed in the anime, but Bakura couldn't concentrate on it at all. He kept shooting sideways glances at Malik. Malik had quietly noticed, and when Bakura looked away, tossed a piece of popcorn at him. Bakura leapt up.

"Oy! Hey! Oh...wow..um...popcorn..." he stuttered, fidgety. "Yum."

"What's with you?" Malik asked. "You've been twitchy all night."

"Twitchy?" Bakura shifted on the couch. "I'm not twitchy no, you think I'm twitchy?"

"You just jumped forty feet in the air!"

"Oh..." Bakura slumped down. "I did, didn't I? Yes, suppose I am a bit twitchy then..."

"You are quite twitchy." Malik took a sip of coke. "That's not like you. You're not twitchy."

"I'm not twitchy?"

"No, not normally."

"Yes, yes...good point, yes."

"See, there you go again, all twitchy." Malik scooted closer to Bakura, who froze, rigid where he was, eyes wide.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Malik asked. "Is your ass on fire or something?"

"No!" Bakura stammered. "I mean, no, it's not, but...I..."

He leaned in and gave Bakura a soft kiss. Bakura smiled and kissed back. He took advantage of Malik's distraction to snake a hand around his waist and tickle him.

"Hey! Damn you!" Malik shrieked. He lost himself in a fit of giggles. Bakura was quite pleased with himself. Malik lunged at Bakura and gave him a soft kiss.

"Oh, mmmmmm..." Bakura felt himself melt. In a flash Malik was gone. "Hey!" He snapped open his eyes. Malik was giggling, running into the kitchen.

"Can't catch me!" He grinned.

"Like hell I can't!" Bakura took off after Malik. He chased the blonde around the kitchen island twice, and down the stairs to the basement. Malik ran into the laundry room and shut the door.

"Hey! Let me in!"

"No!" Malik giggled.

"You just trapped yourself, you know." Bakura couldn't stop grinning.

"Um...no I didn't!"

"Yes you did! You haven't even seen all of the house yet!" I've got you now, my pretty...

"You lie!"

"I don't lie. I'm going to get you, and I'm going to tickle you till you can't see straight!" He thought for a moment. "Ye gods, that was lame."

Malik started laughing hysterically. He heard the door click, let out a gasp, and leapt into the dryer, fitting his small, flexible frame in with some ease, but felt cramped nonetheless. He heard the laundry room door swing open.

"AHA! Hey...wait a minute...where did you go?" Bakura scanned the room but the Egyptian was nowhere to be found. "...Malik? Where did you go?"

Silence.

"Well, there's no window for him to climb out of..." Bakura murmured to himself. "...Malik? I'm serious, where are you. Are you in the closet?" He opened the linen closet

but found it empty. He sauntered over to the washing machine. "You can't hide from me forever, you know..."

The dryer door flew open and Malik took off in a flash.

"Hey! How did you...?" Bakura stared after Malik in bewilderment. "No matter, I'm going to get you!"

He continued to chase the boy up the stairs, back into the living room, over the couch, around the dining room table, and up the stairs to the second floor. Malik skidded to a halt, finding himself at a dead end.

"Uh-oh..."

"You've nowhere to go now."

Bakura stood at the end of the hallway, blocking the entrance to the stairs. He took slow, deliberate steps towards Malik, who started giggling again and found himself unable to stop.

"Um...heeeheeee..."

"You can't go anywhere, Malik. What are you going to do when I get you, hmm?" Bakura smirked.

Step. Step. Step.

"Hyah!" Malik opened the door at his end of the hall and darted in, and realized it was Bakura's bedroom. "Oh no! Shit!"

"Haha!" Bakura ran after Malik. Malik took a few steps and realized he could go no further.

"Gotcha!" Bakura's strong arms wrapped around Malik and held him snugly. Hands started to tickle.

"Aaaaaaaaaah! Nononononono!!" Malik wiggled and laughed, trying to get loose, but Bakura would not let go. They wrestled until Malik tripped on the bed and they both fell on the fluffy black comforter. Malik rolled around to face Bakura, heart pounding.

Bakura swallowed, suddenly nervous again. They stared at each other until Bakura swallowed his shyness and gave Malik a quick kiss. Malik gave Bakura another kiss.

The two continued to kiss, each becoming longer and passionate than the last, until the game of tag evolved into a full-blown makeout session. The kept at it for what seemed like hours, until they started to get sleepy. Malik snuggled up to Bakura.

"Mmmmm..."

"I agree..." Bakura murmured. "I like making out with you."

Malik burst into giggles again.

"What? You're fun to make out with, ya know." Bakura ran his fingers through Malik's hair.

"Yeah, so are you. I could make out with you all day."

"Maybe we should try it sometime." Bakura smiled. He felt on top of the world. He had honestly thought Malik would lose interest after a couple dates, but had been pleasantly surprised to see that when he wasn't acting drunk and stupid, the two had amazing chemistry. Bakura decided that his days of getting wasted were over. He'd found something wonderful in Malik, and he wasn't about to let it go. He felt a bit sad, wondering when Malik was going to go home, unless...

"Would you be offended if I..."

Malik raised his head. "If what?"

"...if I asked you to stay with me tonight. Just to sleep. That's all."

Malik smiled. "I wouldn't be offended at all." He rolled off Bakura.

"I'm glad." Bakura walked over to the dresser and pulled out two pairs of pajama pants, tossing one to Malik. "There's a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet, and Listerine."

Malik went into the bathroom to change and brush his teeth. He went back into the bedroom but didn't find Bakura, so he just collapsed on the fluffy bed, and snuggled into fluffier covers and closed his eyes, not really sure of what to expect.

_Does he talk in his sleep? He wondered. If he does, what does he say? Does he just sleep? Oh GOD! Does he snore? He can't snore. No! I hope he doesn't snore. This will never work out if he snores. It just...won't. Maybe if I snuck a breathing strip on his nose in the middle of the night or something..._

He heard Bakura walk into the room and click off the light, then felt him get into bed and pull covers.

"Well, I don't know what _you're_ going to do about covers but..." Bakura rolled over dramatically, pulling covers off of Malik.

"Hey!" Malik rolled back over and grabbed them back. "I had them first!" The blonde rolled back over, and Bakura rolled with him, so that he was on top of Malik.

"Hey!"

"Is that all you can say?" Bakura grinned.

"You're fucking heavy!" Malik squirmed.

"I knew you had a wider vocabulary."

"You're squishing me."

"You don't feel very squishy."

"Bakura!"

Bakura rolled over, and took Malik with him, so that Malik was on top. "Is this better?"

"...yeah..."

Bakura started to tickle Malik.

"Aaaaah! Not again!" Malik started to giggle hysterically. He lost his balance, and fell over and off of Bakura. "Oof!"

They looked at each other, grinning. Bakura trailed a hand down Malik's cheek. "You're so pretty."

Malik felt his cheeks grow hot. He felt all brain functions shut down. "I...um...er..."

But Bakura had expected no reply. "C'mere," he murmured, and pulled Malik close, so that Malik's head was resting in the crook of his neck. "Good night," he whispered.

"Night," Malik mumbled, already half asleep.

Bakura couldn't sleep. He didn't want to. He felt perfect, complete. He wished that the moment wouldn't end, but he eventually found himself drifting off.

The last coherent thought he had before he went under was that he was absolutely, positively sure that Malik was the one he wanted for life.

* * *

It is done!

This chappy, anyway.

I'm so sorry I left this little ficlet hanging. I am determined to finish it, no matter how long it takes. :) I don't go back to school until January 12th, so I'm hoping to get a few more chapters hammered out. I'm also having formatting issues. It won't let me indent, and I'm not sure why. This one came out better than the HTML file, but I'm still not all that thrilled with lack of indentation. Bear with me as I try to fix it. Anybody have any ideas?

So, yesh, you know the drill, read and review and all that, please! Ja Ne!


	7. Not As It Seems

Sweet In Disguise

Written by OtakuChild

Disclaimer: If I did want to own it I'd have to fight my way through the crowd of 2859127148 other fangirls who want it just as much as I do.

Wow, chapter 7. We're getting there!

I am having formatting issues. It won't let me indent paragraphs. Does anybody know how to fix this? Any pointers would be most appreciated. This place has changed so much since I last logged in. Wow:D Lots of new stuff to get used to and awesome new fics and writers out here. :)

Okay, we've had lots of wonderful fluff going on here, but it's not going to stay that way for long. Don't worry though, I'm a sucker for happy endings. :D

As for Malik's eyes in the anime, I am unsure as to whether or not they are tattoos. I don't like to think that they are, and so in my fics he uses eyeliner.

I initially made Malik a vegetarian, and then realized that he really is a vegetarian, and promply fell off my chair laughing hysterically at my lack of brain. :D

And just for clarity...everyone is slightly older in this fic. I put Malik and Ryou in college, and the Yugi-crew(Tea, Tristan, Joey) as seniors in high school. This will be fixed in 'Sicky.'

Chapter 7: Not As it Seems

The two boys continued to see each other on a regular basis. The nights were filled with adamant talking and chatting that lasted well into the early morning hours. They talked about everything from candy to world peace to politics, and once spent the night picking apart everything they felt was wrong with straight people. On a particularly odd night, they discussed Seto Kaiba's odd ticks and working habits, and came to the conclusion that he was asexual(1). They went over how the particular day had been, what Bakura had accomplished at work, and how Malik was doing in school(2). While neither one actually said 'I love you,' it didn't stop the two of them from snuggling, kissing, making out, or sleeping in the same bed on the nights they had off from work and school. Both seemed perfectly content to keep things going slow, and enjoyed what they had with each other.

In the meantime, Ryou and Marik continued to see each other in secret, Malik being the only person who actually knew the details of what was really going on. Out of understanding and respect for the two, he kept all details hidden away from Bakura, feeling that when the time came, it needed to be Ryou or Marik, or both, who came clean about their little secret. Malik wondered sometimes just why they had kept it a secret to begin with, and at times it made him uneasy. He knew they wouldn't be able to hide it forever, and he knew that Bakura would be none to happy to find that his hikari and best friend were keeping something of this magnitude from him. He had a horrible, sinking feeling about it all. He knew that eventually, their secret would backfire.

He had no idea just how right he was, or how soon it would happen.

At work, Bakura was typing furiously, ignoring everyone and everything around him. He had decided long ago that Seto Kaiba could easily take the Guinness World Record for being the most anal, nit picky boss, although he had also reasoned that the large paychecks and benefit packages he handed out gave him a right to be anal and nitpicky. Sometimes it was just downright annoying, like right now.

The lines of code and programming were starting to blur. He'd been working on the same file for what felt like weeks, and wondered if the project, and the game it was tied to, would ever be completed and released. He rubbed his eyes and kept going, tuning out the footsteps that make his way past the open door of his office, failing to see that they had abruptly stopped just outside the door.

"Bakura?"

Yami's deep voice wafted into the office.

"Hn..." Bakura kept typing.

"Bakura..." Yami tried again.

_Tappity tappity click click tap tappity..._

"BAKURA!"

"What!" Bakura snapped out of his work-induced trance, and looked up at Yami. "Oh, hi. When did you start working here?"

"I don't, I just stopped by to drop off Kaiba's lunch."

"What are you doing with Kaiba's lunch?"

"Mokuba called me and said he left it on the counter again, and I was in the neighborhood, so I swung by and picked it up." He held up the nondescript brown paper bag.

"I see..." Bakura nodded.

"You look exhausted. I think you're working too much." Yami trotted into the office and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk and faced Bakura.

"Oh jeez. Now you're sounding like Malik." Bakura thought of Malik's pretty face for a split second and grinned.

"Maybe he has a point. You should come to movie night this week and unwind. Bring Malik."

"Yeah, maybe I should. Ryou goes a lot, seems to have a lot of fun." Bakura paused thoughtfully.

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes...why?"

"Well, it's just that Ryou hasn't been to movie night in about three months."

After the conversation with Yami, Bakura threw himself back into his work with renewed fury, and kept at it until Seto Kaiba himself came by the office to send him home, telling him idly that becoming a workaholic was no solution to family problems of any kind. Bakura responded with a snide remark that went along the lines of the pot calling the kettle black, and the spat ended with Bakura getting kicked out of the office, with orders to not work overtime for three weeks. With no choices left, Bakura went home and called Ryou.

Malik and Ryou were sitting on the couch, working on homework, when Ryou's cell phone rang. Ryou absentmindedly picked it up, failing to check the number.

"Hello?"

"Ryou Drake, come home _RIGHT NOW_." Bakura's voice growled through the phone.

Ryou's eyes widened. "Um...I can't right now, we're on our way to Yugi's house..." he lied.

"No you're not. You can drop the charade now, Ryou. I had a rather interesting conversation at work with Yami today. You haven't been going to Yugi's house."

"Oh, well..." Ryou paused. "No, I haven't..."

"Yes, there we go. I like the truth. It's a rather beautiful thing. When you get home we'll find out just what else you've been hiding from me."

Ryou quietly slid through the door, and tiptoed into the living room. He felt dread and the nausea that often comes with it. He hated when Bakura got mad. Especially over things like this.

"What were you THINKING?"

Bakura glared at Ryou, furious, hurt, angry, sick, and so many other feelings he couldn't put together at the moment.

"What if something had happened to you? Nobody would be able to -"

"It's not like I was ALONE!" Ryou shot back. "Marik was with me the whole time! He ALWAYS walks me home so I'll be safe!"

Silence.

"You were with _Marik_?"

"Yes..."

"And just what were you doing with Marik that didn't seem to be worth telling me?"

"Well...um...things..." Ryou trailed off and stared at the floor.

"What _kind_ of things?" Bakura growled.

"I don't feel like telling you."

It suddenly dawned on Bakura that this wasn't the first time Ryou had told a cover story or acted suspicious. He replayed the last few months in his head, and realized that Ryou had been seeing Marik in secret and keeping it hidden from him. He felt new anger swirling around in the pit of his stomach.

"Tell me something, Ryou. Were you ever planning on telling me you were seeing someone?"

Ryou swallowed hard. "Eventually..."

"So basically, the answer is 'no.'"

"That's not what I said!" Ryou snapped.

"WHEN, Ryou? When were you going to tell me about this? And Marik! Why didn't Marik tell me? He's my best friend! How could you keep this hidden from me?"

"I don't know! It started out...not much really. We thought it would be too awkward at first, to tell you, in case it didn't work. But then it got serious...really serious, and we just kept hiding it...and now..." Ryou went back to staring at the floor.

Bakura took a long, shaky breath.

"Suppose I needed to get ahold of you because of an emergency! You don't even take your fucking cell phone with you! I had no way to get ahold of you!"

"No emergency ever came up!"

"It could have!"

"But it didn't!"

"That's NOT THE FUCKING POINT RYOU!" Bakura roared. "I got you that cell phone so I could be in contact with you at all times! So I'd know where you were when you went out!"

"Maybe I wanted some fucking privacy!"

"THEN YOU COULD HAVE PUT IT ON SILENT!"

"BUT YOU MAKE ME CHECK IN ALL THE FUCKING TIME! I just wanted some time where I didn't have to worry about it! Besides, Marik had his phone, I could have used it."

"Bullshit! Why call Marik when you tell me you're at Yugi's house? Then I find you're not there!"

"You still could have called Marik!"

"That's not the point! You lied to me! You fucking lied to me and it _HURTS_!"

Ryou gasped. Hiding this from Bakura was bringing about far worse consequences than the two had originally thought. Things had gotten out of control. He wished he could redo everything from the beginning. He couldn't, so now he had no option left but to take what Bakura had to dish out, which was a lot of anger and hurt.

"Yes, Ryou, it _hurts_," Bakura sneered. "You lied to be because for whatever reason, you felt you couldn't trust me. But what you failed to see is that you just proved to me that I can't trust you. So what else are you hiding from me?"

Ryou started to shake. "It-it's not like you wouldn't have been able to f-find me."

"Didn't we just go through this, Ryou?"

"But I told people where I was! They would have been able to find me!"

"Really? And just who did you feel obligated to share this information with?"

Ryou looked down at the floor.

"Well?" Bakura snapped.

"Malik."

Malik was in the kitchen reading the paper when Ryou burst through the door in a sobbing mess.

"Ryou! What happened to you?" Malik ran to Ryou, pulled him through the door and shut it behind him.

"He knows! God, he knows! He was talking to Yami and mentioned the 'movie night' from awhile ago and he found out because I wasn't there! Now he knows everything and he knows you're in on it and he's so mad!" Ryou started sobbing all over again.

"What's going on?" Marik called from upstairs. He jogged down the stairs and found his koibito a mess in the living room.

"He knows, Marik. And he's none too happy about it." Malik let out a sigh.

Marik grabbed the phone and headed back upstairs. "Well, too bad. I'm calling Bakura." Marik returned about twenty minutes later, with a grim look on his face.

"He wants to talk to you, Malik."

Malik felt a sick lurch in his stomach. "Shit..."

"I think you should talk to him. Don't let this wreck what you have with him. If he does anything rash, just call me."

"Okay." Malik took a shaky breath, slowly stood up, and headed out the door.

When Malik arrived at Bakura's house the door was unlocked, but the house was dark, save for the light on top of the stove range. Malik gingerly opened the door.

"Bakura?"

Bakura emerged from the living room, eyes bloodshot, hair a tangled mess. "You." He glared at Malik. "You were in on this." His voice was low, and quiet. Too quiet.

"I..." Malik shut the door behind him, heart pounding.

"I didn't _lie_ to you, Bakura..."

"You hid things from me!" Bakura yelled. "To me that's as bad as a lie! You lied to me just like Ryou did!"

"Ryou's my best friend! Of course I'm going to stick up for him!" Malik yelled back. "He swore me to secrecy; I wasn't going to stab him in the back!"

"I TRUSTED YOU, MALIK!"

"Why are you freaking out about this?" Malik continued to yell to match Bakura. "This is so stupid! So Ryou's been seeing Marik. So they have a relationship. So fucking what? It's not like he's smuggling drugs or killing people! This isn't the end of the world!"

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Bakura screamed. "YOU AND RYOU BOTH LIED TO ME! Do you have any idea how that makes me FEEL? It HURTS! But that's something that you or Ryou fail to understand!"

"Did it ever occur to you why he kept this from you? Maybe because he knew this was how you'd react!"

"OF COURSE HE DID! And he didn't care, did he?"

"OF COURSE HE CARED!" Malik screamed back. "He didn't want you to worry that some guy was going to fuck him over or do him wrong! He didn't want you to feel awkward around Marik! He wanted things to stay as normal as possible, so he kept quiet."

"I notice you're not bothering to defend _yourself_," Bakura growled. "Does that mean _you_ don't care?"

"Don't even think that this has to do with us!" Malik snapped.

"Maybe it does! You're sticking up for Ryou and you hid things from me? What if you hide other things from me?"

"I won't hide things from you! I thought Ryou and Marik should be the ones to tell you, not me! Shit, Bakura! You're out of control and you're flying off the fucking handle! Look at yourself! You're so angry you can't even _see_ straight, let alone _think_ straight!" Malik moved forward so that he was inches from Bakura. "Tell me something," he said, voice even and low. "Is this what you're going to be like every time we fight? Because if it is, maybe it would be pointless to defend myself. You seem to lack the ability to listen to reason."

"I..." Bakura felt completely blindsided, and now had no clue what to say.

"You question MY trust, Bakura? You're the one who hit on me when you were _drunk_. Maybe you're right. Maybe I don't trust you anymore."

Malik walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

It suddenly dawned on Bakura just how badly he'd overreacted to the whole situation, and how he'd not only pushed away his hikari, but now Malik as well. How he'd seemed to have blown everything he had in the course of three hours.

"DAMMIT!" He screamed. He kicked the couch repeatedly, then collapsed on it, sobbing.

The next morning was overcast and cold. Malik didn't feel up to doing anything and he knew he'd be worthless in class, so he slept through most of the day and, later that night, went to the park to get away from all the yelling of the night before and the negative vibes that had set upon the house. He sat, quietly, and just stared at the fountain in the middle of the park.

"I've never gotten that angry before in my life, you know."

Malik let out an exasperated sigh. _Can I get no peace? _he thought bitterly.

"Congratulations," Malik shot back sarcastically. "Call the fucking media."

"Listen," Bakura continued. "I slept on this whole thing, and yes, I overreacted. A lot. It was ridiculous, really."

"You think?" Malik said coldly, making a point not to look at the Brit. "Nice how you failed to see the repercussions it had. You scared me and Ryou shitless; you've alienated just about everyone and fucked up your friendship with Marik. I really don't know if this is worth it now. I don't know if I can keep going with us. I don't like this side of you at all."

"I understand why you're upset. I...I'm sorry, Malik. I wish I could take it back. I should have listened. They had a valid reason for keeping it from me. I don't even know why I got so upset now. "

"That's what worries me. You don't even know why you got so mad. I can understand you being upset. Ryou and Marik and I hid something from you that was very important. But we didn't do it as a personal attack on you, or do it to hurt you. I'm sorry that we did hurt you, but I'm still angry at you for overreacting."

"I...I still have a lot to sort through."

"Them maybe you need to sleep on it some more," Malik said quietly. He got up and faced Bakura. "Call me when you've figured it out. Otherwise, I think we need to take a break from whatever the fuck it is that we have. But don't call me until you've fixed everything with Ryou and Marik. Goodnight."

Malik turned and walked home, leaving Bakura to stare at the fountain in the park and the empty space where Malik once sat.

* * *

(1) Asexual means having no sexuality of any kind; gay, straight, or otherwise.

(2) College, not high school. Malik's major will be determined in later fics. :)

Short chapter, I know. But the chapter ending just seemed to work perfectly. :D Chapter eight is in the works, and it will hopefully be longer. :) I don't know if it will be the last chapter or not, just have to figure it out, and see. :) In the meantime, please read and review. Ja ne!


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